Years after supposedly walking away from coaching, Joe Schmidt is heading to Ulster for a month, and retirement looks as far off as ever.
Joe Schmidt said goodbye to coaching a long time ago, or so everyone thought. Now the New Zealander is packing his bags for a month-long spell at Ulster, proving that the whistle, the whiteboard and the training pitch still have a firm grip on him.
It is the latest twist in a career that has refused to follow the retirement script. Schmidt made his name guiding Ireland through one of their most successful eras, building a side known for precision, discipline and tactical detail. Those traits made him one of the most respected minds in the northern hemisphere, and clubs and unions have never stopped wanting a piece of that expertise.
The Ulster stint is short, but the message is loud. A coach with this résumé does not need to keep working, so the fact that he keeps returning says plenty about his appetite for the game. Players who get a month in his orbit will be exposed to meticulous preparation and a razor-sharp eye for the small margins that decide big matches.
Schmidt has been quick to laugh at his own reputation, admitting he is very bad at retiring. On this evidence, he is right. Ulster will be hoping to squeeze every drop of knowledge from the visit before the rugby world asks the next question: where does he turn up after this?
