Ireland v Australia: Sam Prendergast was on Joe Schmidt's radar long before now
The wily Kiwi is renowned for his knowledge of players and he had added Ireland's new out-half to his internal database long ago
It should be no surprise to anyone that Joe Schmidt has had Sam Prendergast fixed on his radar from a long way out.
Schmidt has an encyclopedic knowledge of players and plays. And the former Ireland boss turned Australia supremo was well aware of the 21-year-old new boy before Andy Farrell gave him his debut this month and selected him ahead of Jack Crowley at out-half for tomorrow's Aviva Stadium clash.
It was through current Ulster head coach Richie Murphy, Schmidt's former kicking and skills coach with Leinster and Ireland, that Prendergast first came to Schmidt's attention.
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"I was talking to Richie Murphy two years ago and he was saying, 'Wow, this kid can play'," said Schmidt. "Richie had that time with the under-20s. So I still look at Ireland and think, 'Wow, there's all these kids coming through who were hugely successful in the under-20s'.
“I think they won back-to-back Grand Slams in the 20s, which was a hell of an effort, and they got through to those top rungs in the Junior World Cup. So he's at the apex of that group of young players who are really exciting.”
Schmidt is back in the city where he spent 10 years coaching with Leinster and then Ireland. After five years away, with World Rugby, the All Blacks and now the Wallabies, he's loving it.
"Yeah, it was great Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday," he said. "Not so much today, got pretty cold and wet at training but no it’s been great to be back.
"Caught up with family, which is nice, and lots of friends yesterday. We didn’t train yesterday, so it gave me a bit of a chance to catch up with a few old friends - now foes - so yeah, that’s the nature of it.
"It was a bit overwhelming at the airport on the way here, especially then the lads giving me a hard time. No, it’s actually comfortable. I feel comfortable here. Ten years is a long time. And obviously we still have a home here, my daughter (Abby). I think we’re probably one of the few loss-making landlords in Dublin but that’s just the way it is!
"I think it's one of the funny things about Dublin, they talk about kids staying in the home longer, I think our kids just stayed until we left so it was a pretty good plot that they had, I think.
He hadn't yet met up with Andy Farrell, his former defence coach with Ireland who succeeded him in the hot-seat in 2019, but they had plans for a reunion last night or some time today.
But Schmidt did catch up with Farrell for a coffee in May and together they pledged to make tomorrow's Aviva Stadium clash a memorable one.
"We talked about hoping it would be the right spectacle," said the 59-year-old. "Both coaches are committed to it - and I think that both teams will be committed to it as well. Faz has done a great job so, yeah, it will be interesting to see how that manifests itself on Saturday."
He talks about the first time he coached against Ireland being a bizarre experience - he got a phone call from then All Blacks boss Ian Foster to take charge for the first Test of the 2022 summer tour because the New Zealand management team all had Covid.
New Zealand won, then Schmidt himself got Covid. The All Blacks lost the second and third Tests. The most recent time Schmidt was in the opposite corner was 13 months ago - when Ireland's dreams of progressing to the semi-finals of the World Cup were demolished by the man himself.
"At least by the time we got to the quarter-final of the World Cup, I’d been helping out for a while and was a little bit more comfortable," he said. "I just thought it was one of the best games of rugby I’ve seen. Certainly not for coaches, because you’ve got your heart in your mouth the whole time.
"Jordie Barrett holding up Ronan Kelleher (over the try line) was pivotal - but there were so many pivotal moments in that game. I just think it was a great advertisement for really high level competitive rugby."
He claims that Ireland's approach today isn't far removed from five years ago when he departed. "Jamison Gibson-Park gives them so much speed in how quickly he arrives and lifts the ball, and distributes it at the breakdown," Schmidt said. "I know it’s something that Conor (Murray) could do for us, but we probably used Conor’s kicking game a little bit more.
"Not that Jamison has a bad kicking game, it’s just that people tend to play to their strengths, and then as a coach you’re trying to maximise the strengths you have in the team.
"And a big part of it was talking to the players and seeing how they wanted to play, see how they felt they were capable of best playing - and it’s been the same with the Wallabies."
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