Joe Schmidt sticks his hand up for Ireland's RWC quarter-final exit
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Outgoing Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has taken responsibility for Ireland's failed Rugby World Cup as they failed to surpass the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals in Japan.
Schmidt has expressed regret for the way he prepared his players for the Rugby World Cup, saying the team's desperation to prove their credibility in Japan may have been their downfall.
Ireland headed into the Rugby World Cup as major contenders and as the highest ranked test side in the world, however they failed to reach the semi-finals once again crashing out of the quarterfinals with a 46-14 thrashing by the All Blacks, continuing their record of never winning a knockout game at the global showpiece.
Speaking to reporters on his arrival back in Dublin Schmidt said: "If I had one regret it's the fact we talked about (the World Cup) a year ago,"
"We built up to it and we probably went away from our week-to-week focus or our immediate tournament focus.
"Maybe we built it into something that became a bit of a self-consuming monster because we didn't play as well as we could.
"I have to take responsibility for that.
"If I had my time over I might do it a little bit differently. Unfortunately, my time is done."
Ireland's dissapointing Rugby World Cup has not diminished his market value with Schmidt saying that he has been "blown away" by offers of coaching positions but would not entertain any until the middle of next year.
"I know I'm not going to do (coaching) in the near future," said the 54-year-old.
"I made a commitment that I'm going to absolutely stick to, through to at least June or July of next year.
"It hasn't been a job, it has been a way of life. It has been seven days a week and I think I can honestly say, in six and a half years I've not taken one full day off."
