THE TROUBLE WITH success is, there’s no comfortable way back down.
Joe Schmidt arrives on Lansdowne Road today for his first game in charge as Ireland head coach.
These jobs don’t tend to come around in teams that are playing well, but the Kiwi takes over a team at a particularly low ebb following a Six Nations that promised so much, yet blew up in our green painted faces so quickly.
Though Schmidt’s humble demeanour have caused some pouring of cold water on expectations, they are high among the people who matter in all of this. After all, this is the man who managed to cast of Clermont’s second-place curse, and since arriving on these shores has made a habit of coming first; two Heineken Cups, the consolation of the Amlin Challenge Cup and, at last, the Pro12 crown were his exploits in three thrilling seasons at Leinster.
It’s a tough act to follow… but then again, who cares?
“I was laughing because someone asked about Joe with expectations, and a double-edged sword, blaa blaa blaa,” Jamie Heaslip recounted on Thursday.
“I was thinking, ‘you’ve got to feel for him’, you know?”
Honing in on the little details and perfecting processes is nothing new in the Irish setup, but in his time with the eastern province Schmidt appeared to make it an absolute way of life for his squad. That exciting Schmidt gameplan may take time to show itself, but behind the scenes his framework is certainly being felt.
Once the exaggerated sympathy was put aside, today’s captain was back on message:
“If they [coaches] are expecting anything, it’s on themselves in terms of their job. That’s what they’re worried about, not the outcome.
“If we go out there and do the best job you can do, and the outcome doesn’t go our way, you can hold your hand up and say ‘We played a really good game and were beaten by a better side.’ Or you can go out and do your job.
“The point I’m trying to make is that we’re not focusing on the outcome, we’re focusing on what we’ve got to do, our job role and execution.”
Sports psychology has trained players and coaches alike to put expectations to the back of their mind and instead focus on the little things that make up the 80 minutes. However, they simply wouldn’t be human if they didn’t feel the unmistakably terrifying buzz of nervous excitement that comes with sport at this level.
“Joe loves a challenge and he’s stepping up,” Heaslip adds. “I think the players have really bought into how he does business here in terms of how he likes to train, how he likes to make sure everyone know exactly what their job is, what we’re doing and what he expects from players. The whole coaching staff are quite clear on that message to us.”
All change for Ireland, but not for Schmidt? That’s the plan anyway.
