Joe Schmidt Shares Wisdom with Limerick Students

When New Zealander Joe Schmidt, 53, talks, people sit up and listen. So when a group of aspiring rugby stars got the chance to hear Ireland’s greatest ever coach speak, you could hear a pin drop. Alan Owens reports for the Limerick Leader.

Schmidt was a guest at Crescent College Comprehensive recently where he addressed both the senior rugby squad at the school and a wider gathering of parents, staff and current students, all of whom sat in rapt attention as he spoke.

The Ireland head coach outlined the need to “stick to your values in life and not to set too many goals as values will lead a person to achieve many goals as a natural progression”.

He also said for organisations to function properly “all the people involved must feel absolutely valued” and this is the most central part of building successful leadership and teamwork.

Woodville-born Schmidt has been at the helm of the Irish team since 2013 and has helped the side win back-to-back Six Nations titles in his first two campaigns and only a third Grand Slam in Irish history last March.

Original article by Alan Owens, Limerick Leader, November 3, 2018.