Joe Schmidt has said that the IRFU does not have a policy of not selecting players based overseas. However, there is an intention to best serve the game in Ireland by selecting players based in this country.
Last week, Simon Zebo was omitted from the Ireland squad following the announcement that he will depart Munster at the end of the season. Many wondered why Zebo was left out but, previously, while playing in the Top 14, Johnny Sexton was selected to play for Ireland.
Quoted by The Times Ireland, Schmidt said part of Sexton's selection was initially convenience but, ultimately, it came down to him being too high quality a player to ignore.
At the time I was new into the job and to set a rugby team up in the space of a week is an incredibly difficult job.
To have a thought process that is very similar to the guy that was running the team was, as much as anything, a real convenience to me going into a new job. That was a part of Johnny’s selection. He is also proven to be, over the last two Lions tours, the starting player in a Lions test match.
Zeebs has been great for us. But, he hasn’t reached the same level of selection, in those terms.
There is a feeling that the IRFU has its finger in the dam at the moment in terms of Irish players moving abroad. Even today, Iain Henderson has said the thought of leaving these shores has entered his thinking - there have been enquires as to his availability.
"I guess the risk is a really high-profile player does go and then you’ve got to make a decision," said Schmidt. If Conor Murray moved after the next World Cup, it would undoubtedly test the resolve.
Schmidt added that he is trying to think as long-term as possible, taking into account the risks which selecting players employed overseas would bring: more would be likely to leave.
The Ireland head coach also admitted that the door is not completely closed for Zebo, saying "I don’t think there has to be a massive injury crisis for Zebo to be recalled."
Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
