Joe Schmidt has explained why Ross Byrne has been left out of Ireland's Six Nations squad, at the launch of the competition.

The Leinster fly-half was omitted when the squad was announced last week, and Joe expanded on the decision in an interview with Off The Ball:

"I'm looking for Ross Byrne to keep building.

"We've invested a lot of time in Ross, and the one thing that is if you invest time in Ross then he'll double that up himself.

"He's been working really hard on his game. He probably hasn't had the fluency of starts this season that he has last season, as Johnny has been starting more games.

"Everything is a contest. We are going into a contest in ten days't time that is the height of contests for us, but everything is contest - from training, to selection, to the final preparation for a match.

"Ross is still very much in the forefront of our thinking, but you have people who were not involved who are asking 'what about me?'"

Joe also gave an exceptionally positive appraisal of Andy Farrell as Irish rugby starts to look ahead to life after Schmidt.

Schmidt was speaking at the launch of Six Nations 2019, where England are Ireland's first opponents. However, it is Englishman Farrell that has been the subject of interest since his confirmation as Schmidt's successor.

"He is very, very good at his job. He has added value in our environment.

"We also wanted continuity [...] - when I was asked, I didn't hesitate to endorse Andy because he brings a real clarity of thought, he brings an understanding, and he certainly understands either side of the ball.

"He could coach attack as well as defence, so I think that flexibility is really good as well.

"I think he'll do a super job, there's good continuity and there's a good foundation with the young players putting their hands up over the country as well."

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