Joe Schmidt's inside knowledge of Ireland not a 'great advantage', says Mick Kearney

Joe Schmidt's inside knowledge of Irish rugby won’t count for much when Ireland face New Zealand on Saturday, according to Mick Kearney.

Ireland's 36-14 victory over Scotland set the sides up for a World Cup quarter-final clash in Paris on Saturday (8pm).

The New Zealander took over at Leinster in 2010 and was made head coach of the national side in 2013. He led the team to the Six Nations title in his first campaign in 2014 and retained the championship the following year.

In 2016, Ireland earned their first-ever win over New Zealand, a 40-29 win in Chicago, and a third-ever Grand Slam came two years later.

He stepped down from the role following the disappointing World Cup campaign in 2019. Ireland lost to Japan in the pool stage before bowing out after a 46-14 loss to the All Blacks in the quarter-final.

After a break from rugby, Schmidt (above) took up a role with World Rugby as director of rugby and high performance but made a return to coaching with the Blues and was first named selector with the All Blacks in late 2021 before becoming attack coach prior to the summer series against Ireland.

He was, in fact, in charge of the team for the opening Test when Ian Foster and two assistants, John Plumtree and Scott McLeod, tested positive for Covid-19, a game which New Zealand won 42-19.

"It certainly adds another dimension to it," said team manager Kearney of the involvement of his good friend, who turned 58 last month.

"I’ve maintained a close relationship with Joe over the years. While we haven’t been texting over the last few days, I’m looking forward to catching up with him.

"He was an amazing coach for Ireland for the years that he was involved. He brought Ireland to a new level when he jumped over in 2013 and had some