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Ordinary Joe
'He's a great coach. He lives and breathes the game. There's nothing he doesn't know.' Brian O'Driscoll
'The best coach Irish rugby - arguably Irish sport - has ever had'
Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times In the autumn of 2010, a little-known New Zealander called Joe Schmidt took over as head coach at Leinster. He had never been in charge of a professional team. After Leinster lost three of their first four games, a prominent Irish rugby pundit speculated that Schmidt had 'lost the dressing room'. Nine years on, Joe Schmidt has stepped down as Ireland coach having achieved success on a scale never before seen in Irish rugby. Two Heineken Cups in three seasons with Leinster. Three Six Nations championships in six seasons with Ireland, including the Grand Slam in 2018. And a host of the first Irish victory in South Africa; the first Irish defeat of the All Blacks, and then a second; and Ireland's first number 1 world ranking. Along the way, Schmidt became a byword for precision and focus in coaching, remarkable attention to detail and the highest of standards. But who is Joe Schmidt? In Ordinary Joe , Schmidt tells the story of his life and the experiences and management ideas that made him the coach, and the man, that he is today. And his diaries of the 2018 Grand Slam and the 2019 Rugby World Cup provide a brilliantly intimate insight into the stresses and joys of coaching a national team in victory and defeat. From the small towns in New Zealand's North Island where he played barefoot rugby and jostled around the dinner table with seven siblings, to the training grounds and video rooms where he consistently kept his teams a step ahead of the opposition, Ordinary Joe reveals an ordinary man who has helped his teams to achieve extraordinary things. 'Rugby obsessives and amateur coaches will revel in the insight that Schmidt offers into his training methods, tactics and preparation ... Full of insight, emotion and considered analysis' Irish Daily Mail 'An insight into the fascinating personality of the man who has been the single most influential figure in Irish rugby over the last decade' Irish Times 'He is clearly more than an ordinary coach, the winning of two Heinekens, beating New Zealand twice, the 2018 Grand Slam and reaching no.1 in the World Rankings are positive brushstrokes, marking Irish rugby for ever ... A rocky read about exceptional deeds, told in extraordinary fashion' Irish Daily Star 'Undoubtedly the greatest coach in Irish rugby history' Daily Telegraph
'The best coach Irish rugby - arguably Irish sport - has ever had'
Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times In the autumn of 2010, a little-known New Zealander called Joe Schmidt took over as head coach at Leinster. He had never been in charge of a professional team. After Leinster lost three of their first four games, a prominent Irish rugby pundit speculated that Schmidt had 'lost the dressing room'. Nine years on, Joe Schmidt has stepped down as Ireland coach having achieved success on a scale never before seen in Irish rugby. Two Heineken Cups in three seasons with Leinster. Three Six Nations championships in six seasons with Ireland, including the Grand Slam in 2018. And a host of the first Irish victory in South Africa; the first Irish defeat of the All Blacks, and then a second; and Ireland's first number 1 world ranking. Along the way, Schmidt became a byword for precision and focus in coaching, remarkable attention to detail and the highest of standards. But who is Joe Schmidt? In Ordinary Joe , Schmidt tells the story of his life and the experiences and management ideas that made him the coach, and the man, that he is today. And his diaries of the 2018 Grand Slam and the 2019 Rugby World Cup provide a brilliantly intimate insight into the stresses and joys of coaching a national team in victory and defeat. From the small towns in New Zealand's North Island where he played barefoot rugby and jostled around the dinner table with seven siblings, to the training grounds and video rooms where he consistently kept his teams a step ahead of the opposition, Ordinary Joe reveals an ordinary man who has helped his teams to achieve extraordinary things. 'Rugby obsessives and amateur coaches will revel in the insight that Schmidt offers into his training methods, tactics and preparation ... Full of insight, emotion and considered analysis' Irish Daily Mail 'An insight into the fascinating personality of the man who has been the single most influential figure in Irish rugby over the last decade' Irish Times 'He is clearly more than an ordinary coach, the winning of two Heinekens, beating New Zealand twice, the 2018 Grand Slam and reaching no.1 in the World Rankings are positive brushstrokes, marking Irish rugby for ever ... A rocky read about exceptional deeds, told in extraordinary fashion' Irish Daily Star 'Undoubtedly the greatest coach in Irish rugby history' Daily Telegraph
320 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 23, 2019
Part 2 “ball in play” 6 stars and worth the purchase of the book alone. Part 1 about his early life 5 stars. Parts 3/4 about six nations and World Cup both 3 stars. I can’t give 4.5 to book overall hence 4 but Joe Schmidt as a man also 6 stars x
December 29, 2019
His early life was interesting but he really could have benefitted from a ghost writer. Being kind, it was clunky.
The middle section on his rugby philosophy read like something from a bad weekend management course.
As for the World Cup diary, I’d have got more insight on the tournament had I stopped a random Irish fan outside a pub in Roppongi at 2am. Giving a blow-by-blow account of scores from matches we’ve all seen seemed odd. It was more like a series of match reports than a diary. No real insight as to why the wheels came off this Irish team. No insight at all as to how he felt about it all.
After 330 pages, I don’t even know his parents’ names. Feel like I knew more about Joe before I started this.
Seems like a lovely fella and all, but don’t bother writing an autobiography if you want to keep the shutters firmly down.
The middle section on his rugby philosophy read like something from a bad weekend management course.
As for the World Cup diary, I’d have got more insight on the tournament had I stopped a random Irish fan outside a pub in Roppongi at 2am. Giving a blow-by-blow account of scores from matches we’ve all seen seemed odd. It was more like a series of match reports than a diary. No real insight as to why the wheels came off this Irish team. No insight at all as to how he felt about it all.
After 330 pages, I don’t even know his parents’ names. Feel like I knew more about Joe before I started this.
Seems like a lovely fella and all, but don’t bother writing an autobiography if you want to keep the shutters firmly down.
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October 4, 2023With due to respect to Joe, who led a truly sparkling period for Leinster and Irish rugby, I had to get around to this at some point, and the eve of the 2023 Rugby World Cup seemed like just the time to reflect on 2019. As a fan, it was interesting, but a mixed bag of a reading experience. It has three stylistically distinct sections, like he tried out different approaches and then just pasted them together. The first section is a pretty straightforward biographical telling of his early and professional life and the drift from teaching to coaching. The second is arranged thematically and reads more like a motivational self-help book, while the third is sketched as diary entries covering the 2018 Grand Slam glory and the 2019 World Cup, well, disappointment. It kind of feels, if not like three separate books, like material for three different kinds of readers. Overall it’s a very earnest and diplomatic piece, every anecdote carefully packed with acknowledgments and thank-yous and/or a moral takeaway. The diaries provide refreshing insight, and I enjoyed the anecdotes, particularly from Leinster and Ireland times, but the coaching theory-heavy mid-section struggled to hold my interest. Thanks for the memories all the same, Joe!
February 11, 2020
Interesting book about one of the best rugby coaches out there, who made big steps with the Irish rugby team
April 14, 2024
Decent read. Brilliant coach for Leinster and Ireland, brought a lot of success which I think people forget as a result of finishing on a poor note in Tokyo 2019
December 7, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this excellent autobiography. A beautifully written account of the life of an ordinary man destined to do extraordinary things.
A lovely account of Joe Schmidts childhood, teaching career, family, and career as one of the worlds greatest rugby coaches. The book also provides wonderful insight into the the game of rugby through Joe Schmidts eyes. All of this makes it a perfect choice for rugby supporters and players of all ages. And also for those interested in sport in general, in coaching and in sports psychology. Superb.
A lovely account of Joe Schmidts childhood, teaching career, family, and career as one of the worlds greatest rugby coaches. The book also provides wonderful insight into the the game of rugby through Joe Schmidts eyes. All of this makes it a perfect choice for rugby supporters and players of all ages. And also for those interested in sport in general, in coaching and in sports psychology. Superb.
September 14, 2020
not sure what to make of this biography overall,
lots of detail of early teaching and training career, schoolboy games that read like a whose who of upcoming All Blacks, often with specifics on games
middle section seems to outline his philosophy of life and sport, but reads a little like a series of corporate speaking gigs
Leinster and Ireland career covered too, but don't get any real sense of relationship with the players, up or down, maybe felt could not go into it...
lots of detail of early teaching and training career, schoolboy games that read like a whose who of upcoming All Blacks, often with specifics on games
middle section seems to outline his philosophy of life and sport, but reads a little like a series of corporate speaking gigs
Leinster and Ireland career covered too, but don't get any real sense of relationship with the players, up or down, maybe felt could not go into it...
August 8, 2020
What screams out of the book’s pages are four things (a) the man’s unbelievable humanity (b) his ruthless honesty (c) his incredible work ethic and (d) the ridiculous level of pressure [personal and professional] he has consistently worked under. Joe has gone above and beyond for Irish Rugby
February 8, 2022
Part autobiography, part coaching philosophy and part diary. Joe is quite honest about his own shortcomings during his tenure as Ireland coach.
I enjoyed it and got some interesting coaching insights from it.
I enjoyed it and got some interesting coaching insights from it.
May 26, 2025
Audible Version. Ultimately disappointing to be honest, though I’ll admit the main issue is the portion covering the 2019 World Cup not being as warts and all as it could have been which was always going to be the case.
March 27, 2020
From my own background in sport psychology and rugby it’s an excellent read. His insight into developing athletes and people is fantastic.
November 8, 2020
One of the better sporting autobiographies I've read. Very little on early childhood, lots on management and coaching. The diaries at the end and are a bit flat though
February 3, 2021
2.5/5 stars. Worth a read if you are a rugby fan.
Joe was the best Irish coach Ever!
Ordinary Joe is a great title.
Some interesting chapters on technical rugby strategy & leadership skills.
Unfortunately the language is rather stilted & would have benefited from a ghost writer.
Don’t think it captures the essence of Joe!
Joe was the best Irish coach Ever!
Ordinary Joe is a great title.
Some interesting chapters on technical rugby strategy & leadership skills.
Unfortunately the language is rather stilted & would have benefited from a ghost writer.
Don’t think it captures the essence of Joe!
July 20, 2021
Manual on man management
August 15, 2021
დიდი მწვრთნელის წიგნი, რომელშიც ამ უნიჭიერესმა კაცმა საკუთარ ყველაზე დიდ დამარცხებაზე ვერ ილაპარაკა.
November 19, 2021
Interesting look at his philosophy behind all things rugby - from coaching to man-management
September 17, 2023
Excellent insight to the world of rugby👍
May 15, 2024
Very insightful into how a professional coach views the game of rugby
March 18, 2026
Most unstructured autobiography I’ve read, content is ok but structure/flow completely ruins it
July 11, 2024
I admire Joe, he seems to be a great guy and, definitively, he's a great coach.
I expected the book to be more philosophical/sports-related rather than biographical. It is a biography. But when he gets into coaching, especially in part 2, and how his player selection is focused more on character than talent and the ability of the player to deliver his energy into the field via unsung work, well... that makes a great book!
I expected the book to be more philosophical/sports-related rather than biographical. It is a biography. But when he gets into coaching, especially in part 2, and how his player selection is focused more on character than talent and the ability of the player to deliver his energy into the field via unsung work, well... that makes a great book!
July 14, 2021
Not as bad as some would say it is but not as good as it could have been either. You can tell he’s trying hard to give a book of substance and that’s helpful to readers (and in some parts it is) but he also oversimplifies things at times I feel. Probably tried too hard to profess just how “ordinary” he is - you can only use the word humble so many times before it starts to sound like you’re not actually. Still a worthy read and a good insight into what made/makes him a world class coach.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews