Ireland a victim of spying says Schmidt
SIX NATIONS SPOTLIGHT: Head coach Joe Schmidt says Ireland have been victims of spying.
There has been a lot of talk of spying in sports in recent weeks after the controversy caused by Leeds United manager Marco Bielsa when he admitted to sending staff to spy on their opponents.
Leading up to Ireland’s opening Six Nations match against England in Dublin next weekend, Schmidt revealed that he was made aware that Ireland have also been spied upon on a few occasions.
Schmidt did not reveal who he suspected of spying, but he said he “knows it happens”
“I would have to say that I’m not a believer in it,” said Schmidt.
“I don’t think that it’s necessary. I would still like to think there is a sense of fair play.
“I love some of the amateur values that still exist in rugby, you know. But I know it happens. I know it’s happened to us.”
Schmidt added: “It’s happened a couple of times.
“I think when it filters back you are disappointed but you kind of acknowledge, ‘OK, it’s their process. It’s their way of collecting information’. You just shrug your shoulders.
“But I don’t think you can get distracted by it. And in the end, I think if you became paranoid about it you’d never actually train properly.
“You’d always be worried by somebody looking. We always say, ‘If they spy on us but we do it well enough maybe we’ll still be able to get a result’.”
Source: The Telegraph & Irish Mirror
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