Schmidt quite happy to set off a grenade

JOE Schmidt is not a coach who tries to get a rise out of opponents ahead of a match or series. Not does he react to being baited, as Warren Gatland found out when the two New Zealanders were in charge of Ireland and Wales in the 2010s.

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So it was a surprise last week when he generated headlines for a remark, even if typically understated, he made on the Lions' centre pairing for the clash against Argentina in Dublin - Sione Tuipulotu, the Scotland captain, and Bun

dee Aki, who made his Ireland debut under Schmidt, right, eight years ago having been born and raised in New Zealand.

Tuipulotu was born in Australia, qualifying for Scotland through his Greenock-born mother, Jaqueline. Aki signed for Connacht in 2014, a time when a player had to live in a country for three years to qualify. When he was picked by Schmidt, a number of past Ireland internationals criticised the decision.

"It is wrong, irrespective of how good he is, that an Irishman born and bred here should sit on the sideline while somebody who has no connection whatsoever with this country, other than drawing a large wage, takes his place," wrote the 60-cap second row Neil Francis. "The integrity of the international game is slipping away in front of our eyes."

Schmidt did not open himself up to claims of hypocrisy when he talked about the two centres last week. He merely said: "A southern hemisphere centre partnership that will be pretty formidable." The media bit on the two words that identified where the players hailed from and he was deemed to have "taken a swipe at southern hemisphere Lions".