Six Nations 2019: Joe Schmidt committed to year out of rugby but refuses to rule out Lions tour job

Joe Schmidt is fully committed to taking a year out of coaching to spend time with his family once his commitments with Ireland end this year, but the New Zealander did not rule himself out of the running to lead the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa in 2021.

With the Six Nations little more than a week away, the dozen head coaches and captains gathered in south London for the official launch of the championship, with Schmidt speaking on behalf of tournament favourites Ireland and paying special attention to England ahead of their opening-round fixture next weekend.

But Schmidt’s future was also on the agenda given that this was the first time he had spoken to the media since confirming that he will leave his position with the Irish Rugby Football Union following this year’s Rugby World Cup, with current assistant Andy Farrell selected to fill his large shoes.

Follow last year’s Six Nations Grand Slam triumph and November’s victory over reigning world champions New Zealand, Schmidt is seen as a leading contender for the Lions role, which is due to be selected next year. The Kiwi confirmed that his desire to take at least a year out of rugby remains in place in order to enjoy time back home with his family, but made it clear that he does not know what lies beyond 2020.

“That is certainly the short-term plan, to not be involved in coaching,” Schmidt said. “Certainly not for 12 months and I'd say quite likely longer than that. We have a couple of family-related projects that we want to work our way through. I don't spend a lot of time at home already, so it's probably high time I did.

“I wouldn't be available if asked (to coach the Lions) at the moment. I said to my wife that we'd get these 12 months done, and she said she thought I'd last 12 days potentially without needing to do something.

“I wouldn't say that I'm looking to do any coaching, so it's not at the front of my mind. One of the things I decided in a conversation with myself is that whatever does happen after that, I want to make sure these next 10 months are as good as I can help the players be, and to put as much effort into that. That's where your energies go.

“I have had an incredibly planned life for so many years. You get the daily itinerary from the office, they give me my schedule for the week, where I'm going and who I'm seeing. I'm kind of looking forward to 12 months where I can invest that energy in one direction and also not have a daily itinerary or a weekly plan that says this is how you fill your time, and it is very well filled I have to say.”

Part of the reason why Schmidt wants to spend more time at home with his family is due to his son, Luke, having to live with epilepsy, having also had a brain tumour when he was younger. The treatment afforded to Schmidt’s son upon the family’s move to Europe helped him make a recovery as it was not at the time available back in New Zealand, and much of Schmidt’s plans for 2020 revolve around putting his family first, rather than any job or coaching commitments.

But another reason is to take a much-needed break away from international rugby and the energy drain that comes with it. Everything that Eddie Jones, Warren Gatland, Schmidt and the other European coaches do this year will be geared towards the Rugby World Cup in September, yet he is is well aware of the attention and graft that needs to go into the Six Nations in order to make it a successful one.

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Perhaps it’s for that reason that it is no surprise to hear that his relationship with the Six Nations is a “love-hate” one, but you can tell it is something that while he needs a break from it, it will be something that he inevitably misses.

“I just love the championship because of how tight it is, how every game is a contest,” he explained. “The crowds, people get incredibly engaged during the games. It is all consuming, and I think that is brilliant. I kind of have this love-hate relationship with it - I'll be on the bus going to the ground and as you go to the Aviva you go past this hotel, where everyone's enjoying themselves, and I'm sat on the bus going ‘I hope this doesn't go bad’. I almost feel like asking the bus driver to let me off so I can go and have a pint with these people and have as much fun as they do.

“At the same time I'm incredibly privileged to be as close to a group of men who work as hard as they do and achieved what they've done. I will miss that for sure.”

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The work that Schmidt has done over the last six years with Ireland is likely to continue beyond 2019 though when his assistant Farrell succeeds him, with the bulk of Schmidt’s backroom staff also continuing into the next World Cup cycle.

“He is incredibly well qualified,” added Schmidt. “Andy has done the attack side of the game as well, so he understands it. In our coaches' meeting it is very much a collective strategy that we then present to the players, and Andy has been a part of that for the last few years.

“Simon Easterby as well, who is a bit of an unsung hero, as do Greg Feek and Richie Murphy. Andy will have a really strong crew to start with. I know Greg is finishing as well, but we're in a really strong position with our depth in the front row now which I don't think we had before Greg arrived in that position. Andy, with the experience that he's had as an assistant and as a head coach at Saracens, is really well qualified, he understands the game.”