Schmidt’s final act comes up short

Joe Schmidt sat in the coach’s box at the Tokyo stadium, wearing the fraught expression of a man waiting in sporting purgatory

Joe Schmidt sat in the coach’s box at the Tokyo stadium, wearing the fraught expression of a man waiting in sporting purgatory.

For nearly two hours, he suffered, wondering if an appalling start to yesterday’s quarter final would somehow turn into an improbable victory. It wouldn’t. Instead, by 9.15pm local time, the pearly gates were firmly slammed shut in his face and the reign of the most successful coach Irish rugby has ever ...