Plumtree tells Ireland squad he’s leaving

In news that came as both a disappointment and a bombshell to the Ireland squad, John Plumtree has chosen to return home after the tour to Argentina for family reasons.

Admitting it was not the nicest thing he’s ever had to do after what had been a tough two weeks, the Ireland forwards coach only informed the players yesterday at their airport hotel prior to their departure for Buenos Aires.

Rugby nomad

“A bit of a rugby nomad” by his own admission who spent 15 years of his playing and coaching career in South Africa, it had been Plumtree’s intention to take a family holiday back home after the tour, not least as his father Peter has yet to see his third and youngest son Troy, who is seven.

Plumtree is to take up a position with the Hurricanes in Wellington, near his parents and extended family and feels he has let Joe Schmidt down. But Schmidt, a fellow Kiwi and coaching nomad who has sympathy for Plumtree, hopes to have a replacement in place ideally by next September.

A slightly emotional Plumtree spoke about the Six Nations title and "the heap of fun" he has had working with the Irish players. They in turn will miss a genuinely nice bloke whose laid back manner balanced Schmidt's more intense nature, and also the expertise he brought to the Irish line-out and driving maul.

“He brought a little bit of height to the coaching staff,” quipped Schmidt yesterday, before adding: “He brought a degree of diligence around the individual skill. He drove the throwers hard, he drove the lineout hard, and the line-out drove hard.

“Probably the most unfortunate thing for me is that Plum was starting to get to know the players and contribute to more and more of what we were doing, like plays off lineouts and ideas for what to do around the ruck; all those things as well as being a good foil to bounce ideas off.”

As well as having an Irish jersey and a medal to cherish in Wellington, Plumtree will be an Ireland supporter for life.

"There are some excellent leaders in this group, and there are some really good youngsters coming through as well. Obviously Joe is going to have to work out what he's going to do at 13, but once he's done that, the squad is pretty much there," he said, highlighting Johnny Sexton as a world-class 10, while also saying how much he has learned from Schmidt and Les Kiss.

Meanwhile, as with both the November series and Six Nations, Keith Earls has been ruled out of the tour, due to a bout of gastroenteritis, while Marty Moore is out with a fractured toe. Connacht's Rodney Ah You and Leinster's Noel Reid have been called in

Being involved in Brian O'Driscoll's last season was also "pretty special" for Plumtree and along with the retiring Leo Cullen, the great man signed off with the retention of the Rabo Direct Pro12 trophy as Leinster beat Glasgow handsomely at the RDS on Saturday; albeit his troublesome calf only permitted him to last eight minutes.

“They don’t make them like that anymore,” admitted Matt O’Connor. “The guys who are that experienced and that professional but have that genuine amateur ethos of about what’s important in relation to a team and in relation to getting the best out of individuals; it’s second to none, and it was a pleasure to have them both in the environment. I feel very privileged that I was able to have them for 12 months.”

“I think the game has moved on. There is no such thing as amateur rugby for the majority of our group, they understand what it takes to be a really good pro and to deliver on all things that go with being a really good professional in relation to their medical and their S and C and the work they have to do off the field but there’s a genuine “mateship” and a genuine playing for the shirt that happened when guys were doing it for nothing, and thankfully Brian and Leo have got that in spades.”

Expectation

Having ensured Leinster won a trophy for the fourth season in a row, a relieved O’Connor added: “It’s huge because that’s what the environment expects, that’s what everyone involved has come to expect in Leinster rugby and from that end nobody shies away from the expectation and that drives the environment every day to deliver that.”

The final also marked Jonno Gibbes’ last game after four seasons as Leinster coach.

"He grew, he'll say it himself, over the years," ventured Jamie Heaslip. "I've been unbelievably lucky with the coaches I've had, backrowers like Mike Brewer, Michael Cheika and Jono. I played against him on a Churchill Cup tour so I knew exactly the qualities we were getting when he arrived. He's the utmost professional. He brought that professionalism and demanded it of the forwards who interacted with him."

“We’re losing a massive coach but gaining with Leo as well. It’s the nature of the game. People leave. You have to take these opportunities when they arise. We’re losing a great coach and Clermont are getting a great coach. We hope he has great success with them.”