Former Ulster and Ireland player Dan Tuohy told Off The Ball how missing out on the 2015 World Cup 'broke' him and that Joe Schmidt's management left him feeling isolated.

Tuohy joined Monday Night Rugby after his retirement announcement referenced rugby being 'rotten' and elucidated on why he felt so disillusioned with the game by the end.

On a personal level, Tuohy believes that Schmidt did not recognise what was needed to get the best out of the former Ulster man.

"Mine and Joe's relationship was pretty amicable face-to-face. As we know, Joe has certain ways of doing things," said Tuohy.

"It didn't work out that well and when I reflect on my career [...] I really should have made 20 to 30 caps.

"I don't think that I fully realised my own potential and that is completely on myself. There was elements of that throughout my time with Ireland, consistency being one [issue.]

"Joe knew the buttons to push on me to get me going. But he may not have known that when he pushed certain buttons or didn't push them - he certainly knew how to break me.

"It was a tough time for me at times with Joe. I played some of my best rugby for him, but I also played some of my worst rugby for Ireland."

Terms such as 'break' usually have negative connotations, so Tuohy detailed examples of what had happened under the former Ireland head coach.

"I would sometimes come away from Ireland camp having thought I was going to be close to the squad [...] and just have those doubts creep in again; he would say that I needed to be more accurate here or there.

"Look, I needed to fit into what Joe Schmidt does. He is an incredibly successful coach, be it provincially, in France or on the international stage.

"I just don't think that he knew the best way to get my form."

'Broken to the core'

If there was a particular low point in Tuohy's international career, it is around the 2015 World Cup, where he found himself close to inclusion for the tournament.

"By my own admission, I probably [came into the wider squad] a little bit overweight.

"I was playing a little bit of catch-up; I had had an achilles injury and couldn't do all of the training.

"I missed out on selection for the squad. I had a really good game against Wales coming off the bench and had a really poor game against Scotland.

"I was told that I was on reserve. Naturally, I was watching hoping that Ireland do well.

"I saw Paul O'Connell got injured in the French game, which was the injury that finally did for him.

"I had been telling people for the last few weeks that I was on standby and I was thinking 'right, here comes the phone call.

"Then one of the guys text me saying 'Mike McCarthy has just arrived. I thought 'Jesus Christ'.

"That hit home hard because I didn't get a phone call from anybody. I was embarrassed.

"I was just broken to the core because that was everything to me."

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