Iain Henderson says Joe Schmidt is keeping Ireland players in dark over World Cup
Friday 31 July 2015 14:47, UK
Ulster forward Iain Henderson says Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt is keeping his players "in the dark" over World Cup selection.
Ireland play a warm-up match against Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, August 8, before facing Scotland, Wales in a return match in Dublin and finally England as they prepare for the tournament.
Schmidt must reduce his 45-man training squad to 31 players by August 31 and Henderson says the New Zealand-born coach is keeping his players guessing by giving them no indication of where they stand.
"Joe is so hard to predict when it comes to selecting squads," Henderson said. "He keeps us on our toes at all times, so it's typical of him to be keeping us in the dark and that's what's happening now.
"It's making everyone work harder and harder all the time, and that in turn probably puts more pressure on him just to make those selections decisions.
"We're not even sure what the squad will be like for next weekend's game yet: Joe has kept us in the dark on that, and no doubt that's deliberate."
Schmidt's men will open their World Cup Pool D campaign by facing Canada at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, September 19, before clashes against Romania, Italy and France.
Coming off back-to-back RBS 6 Nations titles, Ireland enter the tournament in good shape as the No 3-ranked team in the world.
Those achievements have seen Schmidt recently rewarded with a contract extension by the IRFU and Henderson says the players have absolute faith in his methods.
"Joe wouldn't be doing anything if he didn't have a logical explanation for it," said Henderson.
"If you were to take the time and ask him why we were doing specific things then he would always have an answer for that. He's meticulous in his planning – everything we do is for a reason.
"Again, that's just another way of everyone staying sharp and on their toes.
"It builds that competition again – there's absolutely no chance of anyone thinking they can have an easy week expecting not to play next weekend or anything like that.
"In a way it allows you to focus completely on what is happening day by day."
