If you're familiar with Joe Schmidt, you might have thought of him every time referee Chris Busby penalized the Wallabies at Murrayfield last Sunday. You could almost see the coach composing an email to World Rugby—coincidentally, where Schmidt spent a year of his career a few years back. The email would likely include all available camera angles and relevant points of law, each argument compelling. Would he have slept well in the south Dublin hotel where his squad checked in after traveling from Edinburgh? The answer is probably a resounding “Nah.” So much was on his mind, so much to prepare for the Ireland Test. Schmidt can only hope that Saturday’s referee, Andrea Piardi, views the game differently from Busby. Regardless, there was homework to be done. The top priority is figuring out how to handle Australia’s power game if Ireland is as effective as Scotland was.
Post-match at Murrayfield, a Scottish colleague remarked, “At last, Scotland look as good as Gregor [Townsend] has been saying for the last five years!” Why? Because they were on the gain line before the Wallabies arrived and refused to back down. Schmidt is aiming for consistent 80-minute performances, a goal the Scots achieved in that Test. So, he’ll need a strategy if Ireland brings the same tactics. Amidst this preparation, he got an answer to a critical question: who will Andy Farrell select at No 10? The current Ireland coach relied on senior players to carry the load, but by choosing Sam Prendergast over Jack Crowley, he has shifted gears and deviated from the script. True, Crowley is not a veteran, but after Johnny Sexton, it will take time for anyone to fill that role. Crowley has done as well as could be hoped. Then Prendergast comes off the bench against the Pumas, follows it up with a composed performance against Fiji, and suddenly, he’s starting against the Wallabies?
You could almost hear the wheels turning in Schmidt’s head. By the time they stopped, he had likely narrowed down the options to make life difficult for the new man. Prendergast was still in secondary school when Schmidt suffered his second World Cup calamity with Ireland in Japan 2019. Now they are in the same arena: one center stage, trying to remember his lines and maintain his smooth delivery; the other heckling from the audience. “I thought he did really well against Fiji, and Faz must have thought he went all right as well, I suppose, because he’s put him back in against us,” Schmidt says. “And that’s real confidence. I’m not saying it’s ever going to be easy for him but imagine having Jamison Gibson-Park and Bundee Aki as inside-outside, Robbie Henshaw right there, Caelan Doris further in—he’s on a really good hinge of experience I think. So while his experience isn’t great, I think the people around him have fantastic experience.”
The key word there is hinge. The first time Schmidt heard of Prendergast was when the 21-year-old was starring for Ireland’s under-20s grand slam two seasons ago, so he filed the name away. He might not have expected to pull it out so soon, but in the circumstances, it’s a bonus: a hinge he can work on and loosen. At the other end of the roster is Cian Healy, about to stand alone as Ireland’s most capped player—on 134—a man Schmidt relied on at Leinster. But he hadn’t planned for the loosehead to surpass Brian O’Driscoll’s cap record. “No, but I massively respect it,” Schmidt says. “Loosehead—he’s up against the caps record holder for the Wallabies as well [James Slipper]. I think that’s a great thing as well for loosehead props, maybe there’s something to be said about them. They know how to get that longevity. With Slips playing at the weekend and Cian Healy, I’m pretty sure that we’ll catch up afterwards and those two will share a bit of hydration.” It would be surprising if Schmidt doesn’t have a quick chat with Prendergast too. Just to see if the landmines laid were sidestepped or trod on. Either way, it will shape how this Test turns out.
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