Incumbent England boss Stuart Lancaster is under pressure after an underwhelming Group Stage exit on home turf, with Schmidt, who has coached Ireland and Leinster to European multiple successes, inevitably linked to a job with the financial giants of the RFU.

However Schmidt, speaking on the Late Late Show, knocked such rumours on the head, saying he is ‘absolutely committed’ to Ireland:

“I’m absolutely committed to the group of young men I work with, they’re such a good group.

“I can’t wait to get started post-Christmas looking towards that Six Nations and to go forward as best we can.

“I’m certainly not going anywhere.”

This declaration drew a large cheer from Ryan Tubridy’s audience.

He answered Ireland's call! #LateLate pic.twitter.com/KTpWxk2Ecr

— The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) October 23, 2015

Schmidt was also asked to reflect on his Rugby World Cup regrets, after last weekend’s humbling 43-20 loss to Argentina.

The Ireland boss reflected on the mere 25-minute window of preparation given to out-half Ian Madigan, after Johnny Sexton pulled up at the last minute.

“One of the regrets I probably have now is that Johnny’s fitness was declared early in the week, on the Wednesday, he trained on the Friday, and for Ian Madigan to come in…

“He had a small window of about 25 minutes on the Saturday to prepare himself for a monumental test. It’s not a great window to be running the show.”