After more than six years in charge, Joe Schmidt is looking forward to sitting back and enjoying watching Ireland.
Schmidt and his team arrived back in Dublin last night from Japan, with the Kiwi coach in good spirits as he said a final goodbye to Ireland fans.
"I'm really looking forward to the Six Nations," Schmidt said.
"Instead of looking through the glass, I might just have one in my hand, and I'm looking forward to that.
"It [moving on] is more difficult, because I've finished as a rugby coach and it's hard to step away with that as your last involvement, but at the same time, I can only work as hard as I can work.
"I've worked with incredibly good people, the staff and the playing staff".
Schmidt declared that he loved every minute of his experience as Ireland coach, but reiterated his desire to spend some time with his family for the coming year.
"Yeah I'm sure my wife is thinking 'what else is he going to do' as well," Schmidt joked.
"I know that I'm not going to do it in the near future, and I've been blown away by some of the approaches, and incredibly humbled by them, but I made a commitment that I am going to absolutely stick to, through to at least June or July of next year.
"Then as a family we'll sort of step back and decide what people want to do and how we'll go about things because it hasn't been a job, it's been a way of life.
"It has been seven days a week and I think I can honestly say, in six and a half years I’ve not taken one, full day off.
"There’s not one day where I don’t think I’ve either been scribbling notes or watching footage, or getting to a game or doing some coaching. Going into a club and doing something. I’ve loved it.”
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