Is Joe Schmidt hinting that he could be leaving Ireland soon?

"It is something that I've committed to making a decision on once we get back from Africa, really," Schmidt said in the build-up to Ireland's last Six Nations clash with Scotland. "It’s really important that there is a clear pathway for players to know that there’s some continuity there or, if that continuity is going to be with someone else, that there’s a span of enough time that they can get the game up and running as they see it best being played.

"I am conscious of my responsibility there, there’s some factors outside of rugby that tend to dictate for me (and) we’ll be a little bit further down the track with some of those decisions as well." After the thumping of Italy and an impressive attacking display that lit up an otherwise dull campaign, Schmidt admitted that he didn't know if his approach was working. What's never been in doubt is how diligent and systematic the head coach has been in his preparations for every tie with Ireland and, after two Six Nations campaigns already yielded two championships, he will go down as a popular man in Irish history come what may. Schmidt, who has long-since been touted as a future All Blacks coach, has signed a contract extension with Ireland after the World Cup that expires on June 30 2017. Steve Hansen is the current New Zealand head coach and his contract is also up that summer. There'd be no guarantees that Schmidt would command the job but it might be in his thinking to begin working towards that role. And, perhaps, he'd be best served doing that in the southern hemisphere.