Schmidt ready for 'emotion' on Dublin return

Autumn Nations Series: Ireland v Australia

Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Saturday, 30 November Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, live text and commentary on the BBC Sport website and app

Australia coach Joe Schmidt admits Saturday's Test against his former Ireland team will tug at his emotions even if he tries to keep them at bay.

Schmidt's return to Ireland where he enjoyed so much success with Leinster and Ireland, and indeed became a hugely popular figure nationwide, has generated a lot of affectionate commentary this week.

"It was a bit overwhelming especially at the airport here, and then the lads giving me a hard time," said Schmidt of his arrival in Dublin with his Wallabies squad.

Schmidt still has a house in Dublin and his daughter has remained in the Irish capital since his departure from the Ireland job after the 2019 World Cup.

"I feel comfortable here. Ten years is a long time."

"I try to be pretty transactional and pretty pragmatic on game day but there will be some emotion in it for me for sure."

The New Zealander's return has prompted a host of Ireland greats such as Paul O'Connell and Johnny Sexton to laud his contribution to Irish rugby.

Following's Schmidt departure and even after he took up a post with his native New Zealand for the 2023 World Cup, Sexton says his former coach's influence extended on, adding he still had "his voice going through" his head in what proved to be the final game of the fly-half's career against the All Blacks.

Asked for his reaction to Sexton's comments, Schmidt joked that he felt "sorry for him if he still had my voice in his head" but quickly paid tribute to the ex-Ireland and Leinster fly-half.

"I worked for Johnny for 10 years so it’s probably the longevity of the relationship that we would bounce backwards and forward with ideas."

Schmidt added that team-mates such as Brian O'Driscoll, Isa Nacewa, Brad Thorn and Sean O'Brien had been hugely positive influences on Sexton, who he described as an "incredible, skilful and competitive player with a fantastic understanding of the game".

"All those guys have helped mould Johnny and allowed him to probably understand the game, understand himself and understand that he needed to contain himself a few times and sometimes he just didn’t anyway.

"He brought that but he also brought the coldblooded kind of clear decision making that you need."

Schmidt paid tribute to another of his former Leinster and Ireland players, 37-year-old prop Cian Healy, who is set to overtake Brian O'Driscoll as Ireland's record caps holder on Saturday by making his 134th international appearance after being named on the bench for the final game of the country's autumn series.

"He is exceptional. A physical specimen. A bit like Andrew Porter is. Both those guys, you have to lock them out of the gym the best you can.

"[But] Cian is so agile and he was so dynamic when I first got to Leinster," added the Wallabies as he recalled Healy being convinced he could finish off a backs move in the 2012 Heineken Cup semi-final against Clermont-Auvergne in 2012.

"The pass from Richardt Strauss was going into Rob Kearney and there’s Cian on his shoulder trying to overtake him. He’s that sort of athlete.

"And he was lethal close to the line. The opposition couldn’t stop him and we couldn’t get the ball off him."

If Healy does get on the field, he is likely to find himself in opposition his fellow loose-head prop James Slipper who became the Wallabies' record cap holder in September when he made his 140th appearance.

"Maybe there's something to be said about loose-head props. They know how to get that longevity. With Slips playing at the weekend and Cian Healy, I'm pretty sure that we'll catch up afterwards and those two will share a bit of hydration," smiled the Australia coach.