When Joe Schmidt signed a one-year contract extension last month to extend his reign as Ireland head coach to 2017 - he was immediately installed as the favourite to take control of the Irish and British Lions tour of his native New Zealand that summer.
It would make sense - a two-time Six Nations champion in his two years in charge that also saw him bring Ireland to a historic ranking of second in the world and has an amazing win percentage of 80%, why wouldn't he be a candidate for the job?
But the Lions chief John Feehan says the eventual head coach will have to step down from any role in that year's Six Nations, similar to what Warren Gatland did in 2013.
Given that Schmidt's IRFU contract runs out as the Lions tour starts, were he to step down from Ireland duty for the Lions - he would essentially have signed a contract extension for three November internationals before leaving his post.
Feehan has said that he expects to announce the identity of the head coach next summer, with the backroom staff in place by December 2016.
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Picture Credit: Sportsfile
