Schmidt brushes off Ulster worries

By Alex Keery, SPORTS REPORTER

Ireland Head Coach Joe Schmidt has moved to suggest that Ulster are in a much stronger position than some would suggest.

After a turbulent season both on and off the pitch, the province ended a difficult campaign by beating Ospreys to secure European Champions Cup rugby for next season.

“To not have Rory Best, Iain Henderson, to lose Charles Piutau before kickoff, to lose Louis Ludik really early in the game and to go 7-0 down after twenty minutes, and win with a margin to spare against a team the quality of the Ospreys, it does argue reasonably well that Ulster are far beyond some of the descriptions that have been thrown their way,” said Schmidt.

The Ireland chief also admitted to being somewhat shocked by Joey Carbery’s decision to reject the advances of Ulster and instead move to Munster.

It leaves the Kingspan club unsure of their out-half future, as this move could trigger something of a merry-go-round between the provinces.

“It was a surprise to me when Joey told me his decision.

"I’m not really sure what the repercussions are.

"The guys up at Ulster and David Nuciforca, they will put their heads together and see whether there will be any domino effect, or whether someone will come in from outside of Ireland and help Jonny McPhilips, who had a really strong end to the year.”

Ulster’s impact on the upcoming Irish tour of Australia has been dampened after captain Rory Best failed a fitness test, unable to fully overcome a hamstring problem.

However, Jared Payne has made the transition to the backroom for both club and country, now operating full-time as a defensive coach for Ulster and Ireland.

“He’s been coaching for the last two years in our environment so for him to pick up and do so well in a very short space of time with Ulster promises plenty from Jared’s perspective,” said Schmidt.

“He’s a good learner, he’s already got great game knowledge, he has a real ability to communicate positively and we’ve enjoyed his company and we will continue to do so for the next ten days he’ll spend with us on tour.”

Ireland will fly to Australia over the weekend before facing the Aussies in a 3 test series throughout June.