I wouldn’t be renowned for my rugby expertise, but it was so satisfying to sit down last Saturday and enjoy the feast of autumn internationals – culminating in events at Lansdowne Road.

There’s been a notable hiatus of quality sport to enjoy on TV or talk about on the high stool, since the earlier finish to the GAA championships over two months ago.

So the autumn tests bring a timely warmth and colour to the dark and wet November days.

Injuries

Ireland stuttered in defeating erstwhile nemeses Argentina, not helped by the injuries to Kieran Marmion and Sean O’Brien. You have to feel desperate for O’Brien, just back from one injury and “bang” – he breaks his arm.

What rotten luck. Ireland won pulling up, but looking at the players faces leaving the pitch you wouldn’t have thought so.

It just shows how far we have advanced under Joe Schmidt, where a win like this would be picked at for the mistakes.

He has indicated the he will soon decide on his future after the 2019 world cup.

Whatever his decision, his legacy will endure for years to come. The slow but sure evaporation of the great O’Driscoll, O’Gara, O’Connell era was engineered seemingly seamlessly by Schmidt.

His predecessors Eddie O’Sullivan and Declan Kidney too arguably played their role in laying the foundations for the force that is Irish rugby today.

Although O’Sullivan will be unfortunately remembered more by some for the embarrassing exit at the pool stages of the 2007 world cup, rather than landing three triple crowns.

Historic

Meanwhile, Kidney’s tenure harvested just one championship, but that was the historic 2009 grand slam. Hard to believe that momentous occasion was almost 10 years ago.

Deirbhile is 16-years-old. She tells me that of her male friends who play team sport, 80% play rugby.

It is anecdotal how things have changed in a generation, as it would have been 90% who didn’t play rugby when I was her age growing up in the same neighbourhood.

Twenty-five or 30 years ago the Irish rugby team was a bit of a laughing stock, while the soccer team were national heroes. Along came professionalism and look how rugby has flourished at provincial and international level, while domestic soccer and the international team has stagnated or gone backwards.

Twenty-five or 30 years ago the Irish rugby team was a bit of a laughing stock, while the soccer team were national heroes

It is a trend which shows little sign of changing soon. Forty years after the infamous Munster defeat of the All Blacks in Thomond Park, an iconic Irish sporting occasion still talked about, the international team play the All Blacks this Saturday as the top two ranked teams in the world. How many of the half a million people who claim to have been at that match in 1978 would have believed these rankings would ever be thus?

Whether he stays or goes after the world cup, Joe Schmidt will be remembered and revered for the next 40 years as one of the greatest influencers ever, not only in Irish rugby but maybe in Irish sport, such is the speed at which rugby is bleeding into parts of Ireland it was never heard of before. A win on Saturday will surely cement this view.

Stay safe

I wasn’t surprised at last week’s news report highlighting the number of incidents involving pedestrians walking out in front of the Luas. I see it every day and I have no idea how there are not more accidents involving pedestrians who nonchalantly wander across busy roads.

Whatever about phones, you are at nothing now without big headphones oblivious to life around you. Madness.