Johnny Sexton gave a fair summation earlier on the influence that Joe Schmidt will have on Saturday's Rugby World Cup clash between Ireland and New Zealand, when he said, "Joe doesn't get to make any tackles on Saturday."
On the Left Wing podcast with Luke Fitzgerald, former All Black scrum-half, Justin Marshall, had a similar view when discussing Schmidt's influence.
The Influence of Joe Schmidt On Ireland Vs New Zealand
Marshall specifically pointed to Ireland's attack as an area that Schmidt's presence in the All Black set-up will not have much of a bearing on.
I think Ireland have got - and it's hard to say this, people go 'what the hell or you talking about' - but in terms of their short passing game, I think they've got the best short passing game in the world, and I know that's come from Andy Farrell.
Transition passes when they have width on them and they allow the defence to come to you. Ireland between Gibson-Park, Johnny Sexton, Bundee Aki, Ringrose, even the wingers coming in, when Hansen and Lowe come in ..... they can put three, four passes in a 15 metre space to really hurt defenders, and that to me is something that I feel Joe Schmidt will know about, but I think that's part of Andy Farrell's innovation.
So Joe Schmidt is only seeing it like everyone else is, from the exterior, I don't think Ireland were playing like that when he was involved. What he does know about is the defence, and that's key.
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8 September 2023; New Zealand attack coach Joe Schmidt speaks to Damian McKenzie of New Zealand during the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between France and New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
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However, Marshall singled out Ireland's defence as an area where Schmidt will have plenty of knowledgable insight on how to counter the pressure that will be put on his side.
"He knows what the defence is trying to do to you when you've got the ball and when you're attacking. They're trying to make you feel like you've got no momentum and the only option that you've got is to kick the ball away.
"And I feel like Joe Schmidt can educate the All Blacks on the way Ireland defend and exactly what they're trying to push you into mentally, which is to make bad decisions, which the All Blacks have regularly done against that style of defence.
"They have to climb a big mountain to get their mindset right and understand what that defence does to you, and I think Joe is probably going to have a major contribution in that, more so than anything else, as they prepare for this weekend."
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