JOE

How Schmidt's life in teaching gave a unique edge in man management & won friends in Ireland and Australia

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people would have assumed was dead in the water as he was part of the coaching team that saw England at RWC 2015 become the first host nation to fail to get past the pool stage.

Recalling playing against his old mentor, Farrell said: "I don't think there's an advantage.

"The thing that you've got to be clear about is that every single time that you play someone, you don't just keep adding and adding and adding for the sake of it.

"And then when you get to the point of clarity, etc, you end up getting muddled for what it is that you want to stand for.

"So I suppose that's been the key for us this week, to know who we are, what we stand for."

This might not be the clearest statement the Man of Steel has ever made.

But, essentially, he wants Andy Farrell's Ireland to play Joe Schmidt's Australia, not Joe Schmidt's Ireland to face Joe Schmidt's Australia.

Perhaps Ireland assistant coach Andrew Goodman is a decent arbiter of the kind of respect Schmidt can command.