Gatty gets praise because he has a proven record of getting it right when it matters, allied to his fearless decision making and open, combative and genuinely humorous interview style.
Schmidt, for all his nice guy schtick, is a proper bitter little bollix when the mood takes him and the Irish squad is controlled to the nth degree in terms of media.
I think you made a lot of other people’s points for them when referring to the British Loins’ tour.
This is the second time in a row Ireland have won the Six Nations in a post-British Loins year and they also won the Triple Crown in 2006, another post-British Loins year.
The Irish set up is particularly suited to giving players the rest they need coming back from a British Loins tour - far more so than with England and Wales. That matters a great deal in a Six Nations tournament.
Preparation for a World Cup is a much different ball game with a long lead in time and Ireland have a pretty poor history in this regard. Gatty is the master here. Wales upped it several notches for the last two World Cups and put in the best performances of any northern hemisphere team, while Ireland were still playing the same conservative, boring Joeball. Ireland have done what they had to do in this tournament, but have looked very vulnerable at times. Next week is a different ball game altogether, and the World Cup even more so. History says other teams have much greater room for improvement between now and then.