Matt Williams Launches Scathing Attack On Joe Schmidt

Ireland begin their Six Nations campaign at home to Wales tomorrow and Matt Williams has launched a scathing attack on Joe Schmidt in his Irish Times column again of the game.

Schmidt may have delivered two Six Nations titles out of two, but according to Williams, all those trophies and victories against northern hemisphere sides are ultimately hollow as Ireland haven’t developed the expansive game plan he feels is needed to unlock a southern hemisphere defence.

Despite the obvious evidence of the necessity for playing a running, attacking, ball-in-hand game, Ireland have persisted with a grinding, kick-for-position-then- win-a-penalty gameplan.

While that has delivered Six Nations titles, when deployed against the Southern Hemisphere teams it has had the same effect as taking a knife to a gun fight. You lose bad and bloody.

The embarrassing hero worship at the altar of Joe Schmidt must end. The Leinster days were great, but they are over. In the World Cup campaign there were major selection errors and in terms of attack it was a tactical train wreck.

Tomorrow we need to see if Schmidt can embrace the challenge of creating space at international level and give us all hope that the men in green can chase the creative thinking from the south.

Joe, like several other coaches working in the Six Nations, is from the south, but not of the south.