For much of yesterday's press briefing at the Aviva Stadium, Andy Farrell cut a slightly bemused figure as he watched his new boss face a grilling over his perceived lack of regard for the story of the season, Connacht.

It was perhaps unfair to introduce Ireland's new defence coach in such circumstances. This was Joe Schmidt's first media engagement since the Six Nations and during that time the plates upon which Irish rugby rest have shifted and the questions about the westerners' back three came thick and fast.

Having chosen just five players from Pat Lam's side for the three-Test summer tour of South Africa, Schmidt was always likely to face some interrogation about the selection, but the new Pro12 champions' performance in Saturday's final made his life even more difficult.

So, the English rugby league legend spent much of his time on the top table listening on as the head coach rationalised his decisions.

When he got a chance to speak, Farrell was clear and consistent in his messaging as he spoke in admiration of his new boss.

Dynamic

They seemed a slightly odd couple, but their dynamic will be crucial to the success or otherwise of the national team in the coming seasons.

For all that Farrell was focused on the big picture, it was the minutiae that dominated the press conference and unsurprisingly the New Zealander was ready for the interrogation and came armed with new information.

Luke Fitzgerald, he revealed, would miss the tour after suffering a grade II strain of his medial knee ligament and it appears almost certain that Matt Healy will replace the luckless Leinster star on the plane.

Indeed, the IRFU issued a tweet to that effect, only to later delete it as the head coach said he had a number of options in mind and would call in a "couple" of players to train with the squad before making a decision.

Simon Zebo remains in contention as he recovers from his surgery, while Tiernan O'Halloran, Niyi Adeolokun and Healy will also be considered. His name didn't feature, but Craig Gilroy must also be in the reckoning. Schmidt rejected the notion that he had picked his squad on reputation rather than form, but did say that international experience was key to his decision.

"I don't think the word reputation is applicable," he said after helping to launch Vodafone's new four-year shirt sponsorship deal with the IRFU, worth in the region of €15m. "Performance is. A number of those guys [selected] have performed well at Test level."

Schmidt explained that he had spoken at length with O'Halloran, while he has been impressed with Adeolokun's growth in his two years as a professional. But, ultimately, he went with experience.

"We will see some of those guys start to emerge," he said, before praising Keith Earls, Andrew Trimble, Dave Kearney and Fitzgerald who were all initially selected.

On Saturday, Ireland's most established back-three player, Rob Kearney, looked out of sorts and short on fitness at the end of a frustratingly disrupted season, but while other players were given the summer off to get over their injuries, Schmidt saw no reason to rest the Louth man.

"He needs to play more than he needs a break," he said. "He hasn't played that often, whereas there are some guys for whom it's been a pretty attritional season. When Rob came back from injury against Edinburgh he was really good, and he was good the following week. Again he picked up a knock.

"He was really good when he got the opportunities. It was tough for him at the weekend. Certainly for the first try he had a two-on-one which was hard to solve, and Tiernan managed to get through on his shoulder but he was very much isolated at that stage with Jamie (Heaslip) being the second-last defender. They'd got quite narrow and you can't solve all those problems when you're the last defender.

"So it was a tough day for Rob but I guess I've also seen Rob last time we played South Africa and he was superb. When the really big occasions have come up Rob has tended to play really well for us.

"It will be a bit of a litmus test for him and he knows that guys like Tiernan are snapping at his heels and he'll put that pressure on himself and hopefully that will get the best out of him."

So, the hope for Schmidt is that his front-liners respond to the challenge laid down by the challenge being laid down in Connacht.

The other major talking point from the squad named last weekend surrounded the absence of Tommy O'Donnell and Stuart McCloskey and the inclusion of Quinn Roux.

O'Donnell, Schmidt revealed, is unavailable for the third Test. It is understood that he is getting married and so the coach decided to leave him behind. McCloskey, meanwhile, has been given a full summer off after a "massive season".

As for Roux - who couldn't get into Connacht's squad for the final - but makes the plane, Schmidt highlighted the lack of options in the tighthead lock department in the post-Paul O'Connell era.

Such was the interest in his selections, he barely got to focus on the challenge that awaits when he and his side touch down in Cape Town in six days' time.

Behind the scenes, they're occupying a far greater proportion of his and his new assistant's time. He'll hope selection is put to bed as performance becomes all-important.

Schmidt on . . .

Trying to play like Connacht

"You are very, very contained in how much time you have with the player, particularly if you want the player to demonstrate a skill that they don't already have on arrival. It's very hard to suddenly generate that in 10 days because it takes a lot of repetition. You've got to cut your cloth a little bit"

Selecting Quinn Roux

"It's a risk. I'd be the first to admit it. How great is a risk of taking another lock who's another loosehead side of the scrum lock, when we know how important the set-piece is going to be? That's part of the balancing act, sometimes it's just trying to get the best 'needs must' solution to an imperfect world."

His future

"I am definitely (moving closer to a decision). I just have to report in with my mum at home after the summer. I have a final chat with her. I don't know who's been tipping off my kids but they're all bullying me at the moment, so it's one of those things that probably hasn't taken up a lot of my time recently."

Irish Independent