It turns out that Joe Schmidt does, in fact, trust youth. At least for some things.
Conor Murray reveals the unique way in which Ireland vented frustration following their Championship-surrendering 21-10 defeat at Twickenham: by smashing the Irish Under 20 side.
In the training camp following the England loss, Schmidt decided to host a training game between the senior side and the Under 20s. The game was intended as a light session between the two sides, but soon intensified into a showcase of the extent of the senior squad's post-England sound and fury.
Murray revealed the Joe Schmidt's version of rugby therapy to the media this afternoon:
We trianed with the U-20s following the England defeat and it was a great session for us. It was supposed to be two-handed grab (a diluted version of the tackle), but it almost became full contact; there was a bit of bite and you need that release to get theanger out of you and it shows people care, that they want to win and perform well.
You need that, if we had lost against England and then trained with the U-20s passively and just let it flow, then you'd be questioning if we wanted it bad enough.
The hunger and drive is definitely there as well. The work ethic off the pitch is definitely there as well. So, hopefully we perform well at the weekend and can take positives out of the tournament.
Murray did not reveal the result of the victory, but we assume the senior squad won. We hope so, at least.
