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« Je pensais avoir pris ma retraite » : Pourquoi Joe Schmidt a relevé le défi des Wallabies
De retour dans son pays natal, la Nouvelle-Zélande, et avant d’obtenir un poste chez les All Blacks, Schmidt pensait avoir enfin pris sa retraite. Profiter de la vie et se tenir éloigné des terrains, du moins en tant qu’acteur de premier plan.
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Las, après avoir aidé la Nouvelle-Zélande à accéder à la finale de la Coupe du Monde de Rugby 2023, Schmidt a été officiellement présenté le 19 janvier comme le nouveau sélectionneur des Wallabies à l’Allianz Stadium de Sydney.
L’idée a germé pendant la Coupe du Monde
Le kiwi d’origine a révélé que le nouveau directeur de la haute performance de Rugby Australia, Peter Horne, et David Nucifora ont joué un rôle dans la décision du nouveau sélectionneur des Wallabies de relever ce « défi unique ».
« Avec ces personnes en place, j’ai pensé que c’était une bonne opportunité d’essayer de remettre l’Australie sur les rails parce que je ne pense pas que nous ayons eu à la Coupe du monde l’équipe d’Australie qu’on connaissait », a déclaré Schmidt à la presse à Sydney.
« Il faut maintenant prendre le temps de réfléchir à la manière de procéder et à la suite des événements, mais c’est à ce moment-là que j’ai commencé à m’intéresser à la question.
« Je suis sans doute un peu surpris d’être ici. Je pensais avoir pris ma retraite lorsque je suis retourné en Nouvelle-Zélande. Mais c’est pas pour moi, vu que j’ai travaillé un peu avec les Blues et les All Blacks depuis lors.
« J’ai vraiment très envie d’y être. C’est un défi vraiment unique. »
Un troisième sélectionneur en trois ans
Schmidt est le troisième sélectionneur des Wallabies en autant d’années. Dave Rennie et Eddie Jones ont été respectivement le premier et le deuxième, mais le recrutement de Schmidt est sans aucun doute le plus grand coup de Rugby Australia.
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Pourtant, après son passage à la tête de l’Irlande et des All Blacks, Schmidt n’a signé qu’un contrat de courte durée avec Rugby Australia.
L’entraîneur est en effet sous contrat jusqu’à la fin de la tournée des British and Irish Lions de l’année prochaine, qui se terminera début août 2025. A ce moment-là, Rugby Australia et lui-même pourront reconsidérer la situation. En attendant, l’avenir des Wallabies est encore très incertain.
« Il est de notoriété publique que j’ai un jeune homme à la maison qui souffre d’épilepsie et ce travail va me priver du temps que je m’étais engagé à consacrer à l’aider », a concédé Schmidt.
« Si nous parvenons à faire le travail au cours des 18 prochains mois et à prendre la bonne direction, j’aurai l’impression d’avoir fait ma part du travail et je serai heureux de passer le relais ou, si des entraîneurs australiens se présentent, je serai très désireux d’aider certains d’entre eux à acquérir un peu plus d’expérience.
Un CDD jusqu’à août 2025
« Il ne s’agit certainement pas d’un coup comme ça. Je pense que pour Rugby Australia et moi-même, c’est un bon choix à ce moment précis.
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« Si vous deviez changer avant la Coupe du monde, vous ne voudriez pas le faire un an plus tard. Vous voulez être sûr d’avoir une bonne expérience.
« Si nous arrivons à la fin de la tournée des British and Irish Lions et que les choses vont dans la bonne direction… (si) la meilleure chose à faire est de rester, c’est une question qu’on se posera à ce moment-là. »
Les Wallabies ayant été éliminés de la Coupe du Monde de Rugby 2023 avant les quarts de finale – une première historique pour l’équipe – l’occasion de repartir à zéro et de reconstruire attend le rugby australien.
Pas de garantie de réussite immédiate
Le succès ne sera peut-être pas immédiat, mais comme l’explique Schmidt, il est essentiel que les Wallabies retrouvent les sommets qui ont fait de l’équipe une force si redoutable il y a 20 ans.
« Je souhaite ardemment que les Wallabies soient à nouveau compétitifs, et si je peux aider à y arriver, c’est la raison pour laquelle je suis ici.
« Je pense que la famille mondiale du rugby attend désespérement que les Wallabies soient là où ils doivent être. Les British and Irish Lions veulent vivre une tournée fantastique. Nous allons construire autour de ça et leur donner exactement ce qu’ils veulent, sans leur faciliter la tâche.
« Deux ans plus tard, il y aura la Coupe du monde à domicile.
« J’espère que les Wallabies seront vraiment compétitifs lors de cette Coupe du monde et que nous arriverons aux phases éliminatoires cette fois. »
Comments on RugbyPass
I think they’ll choose Scott Barret as captain, Ardie 7, Hoskins 8, Finau at 6.
2 Go to commentsSo what were saying is if you make it through to the play offs in Europe you’re likely to suffer at the tail end of the prem. No extra cash for playing in Europe, more chance of injury, fatiguing the team…while others not through rest up. whats the point??
1 Go to commentsClaims that Finau is a risky proposition are hyperbole. His tackles have been mostly perfectly timed and executed except for the Lynach one and that was a split-second out, certainly not 2 seconds. Social media criticism shows opposition fans are nervous about Finau’s impact. I see Jacobson and Blackadder as no.7s, they don’t have the power, size or dynamism to be 6 or 8 at Test level. Akira has shown he lacks the intuition and technique to play Tests. If he learnt to bend his back more and hit breakdowns and tackles low and hard, it would do wonders for his game. Finau is the standout option for 6 with Grace or Shields as his backup. I’d like to see Finau, Sotutu and Jacobson as an experimental back-row combo; lineout nous, dynamic ball carrying, hard defence, etc.
41 Go to commentsI find these articles so very interesting, giving a much more in depth series of insights than one can ever gain from “desktop” research. It is very significant that it is this English man that Joe Schmidt has turned to build the basement stability and reliability from the WB forwards that was so shredded during the Jones debacle. With his long period in Ireland, with both Leinster and Ireland, Schmidt will know Geoff Parling’s qualities as a player well, and he will have gone over, with a fine tooth comb, the mans time in Australia. This, one feels, will prove to be a shrewd decision. I’m particularly interested in Parling’s comments about the lineout, especially the differences in approach between the hemispheres. He talks about the impact of weather conditions on the type of lineout tactics employed. He is the right man to have preparing for a wet and windy game at Eden Park, the “Cake Tin”, or in Christchuch, or for that matter in Capetown. I must confess to being surprised by this comment though re Will Skelton: “ Is he a lineout jumper? No. But the lineout starts on the ground – contact work, lifting, utilising that massive body at the maul.” Geoff is spot on about the work Will does on the ground. But I would contest the view that he is not a lineout jumper. I think I have commented before on this one, so won’t go further than referring to the end of the last Cup Final in Dublin, LAR using Will on maybe 3 occasions at No 2 in the lineout. And I have seen him used by LAR in Top 14, and never seen him beaten to the catch…but in reality that would only be a total of 10 times max.
66 Go to commentsDaltons a great guy and can lead at any level with that humility
2 Go to commentsWell if Parling is an Australian citizen then I suppose that’s OK. It’s more than can be said for The Hobbit in Absentia. I’m guessing Jordan Useless won’t be getting a call up to the Wallabies then because the Melbourne Rebels lineout coached by Parling has been a complete disaster. Parling had better prove himself or it’s out. He’ll be flattered by having one of the best lineout operators in world rugby in Rodda hopefully. If Parling can teach the Wallabies one thing it would be to also teach Australian players to make a serious effort on charge downs. Only Frost and Rodda make an effort. The rest are half hearted and lazy, bar Harry Wilson’s effort last week. There are lots of big missed opportunities.
66 Go to commentsGreat read thanks and glad he’s committed to Aus rugby! The comment from the no 8 saying he’s never done lineouts before doesn’t surprise me. There often isn’t the same upbringing with rugby here as there is in nz and parts of Europe. Seems like he’s doing a great job at the Rebels
66 Go to commentsScott Barrett. End of story.
2 Go to commentsDu Plessis Kirifi will not be selected by the All Blacks. He is nowhere near 6’0” tall. He looks good in Super Rugby in wide open , fast pace rugby. That is not Test rugby. He would be rag dolled by South Africa, Ireland, France, and England.
7 Go to commentsIt’s Razor so Blackadder and Grace for starters. Although on second thoughts K Read looked in great shape on TV the other day.
41 Go to commentsGreat piece Nick, plenty to chew on. Loved this ‘biases’ line from Geoff, shows he is a thinker - “If you asked me for a shortlist of coaches who appealed to my biases, he would be on it.” I think Schmidt is towing a similar line to Rennie in regards to OS players, he is publicly saying he prefers local talent, but almost certainly will be fighting to have the likes of skelton in the team. Interesting to hear the backroom on the rebels and what a cockup that is, just when you think RA admin has hit rock bottom it digs deeper. Other bit that caught my eye was his skills focus on things like passing from 7s at the base of the lineout, great little details. but also scary that a SR level 8 didn’t know how to operate within a lineout - telling!
66 Go to commentsThoroughly enjoyed this thanks Nick. ‘The lineout starts on the ground…’ wish I’d thought of that line when discussing Will’s place in the Wallabies.
66 Go to commentsShannon Frizell’s second year is optional is how I heard it. Given nothing has been confirmed yet it gets more and more likely he signs to return next year. Cant wait to see Finau doing more work on Internal players.
41 Go to commentsBlindside flankers should be hard hitting defenders, good lineout jumper with height, and a hard worker who hits and cleans rucks. If he can be a destructive ball carrier it’s a bonus but not a necessity. Samipeni Fineau and Cullen Grace are excellent at those core skills and my choice at blindside. Brad Shields is dismissed because he is 33 but not sure why that should be a consideration for this season. Shields too does these core roles well. Just don’t pick an 8 and shift him to 6 like the wingers on The Breakdown suggest, as if 6 and 8 are interchangeable. They are not. An 8 is first and foremost a dynamic ball carrier, not necessarily a destructive defender as a 6 should be. Devon Flanders and Akira Ioane are #8 s forced to play blindside because their teams have better options at 8 than them. Do not pick them at blindside
41 Go to commentsSaints obviously didn’t get the memo, or needed an ego boost?
1 Go to commentsReturning to the Chiefs would be another good change that could only put him into a better position to succeed in black
7 Go to commentsSimply outrageous and demonstrably false to say Finau’s tackle on Lynagh was “2 seconds late” In reality it was probably 0.5 seconds after he passed the ball. If you carry the ball at speed to within 5m of the defensive line you can expect to get tackled. Finau could have pulled out of it and not absolutely flattened him for sure, but there was going to be contact either way. He seems like a high risk selection at the moment, but there is no one else like him in NZ at the moment. His big tackles make the highlight reels but he is also a great athlete, very fast for such a big man, spent most of his days at lock so also very strong in the line out.
41 Go to commentsYes, Finau looks like the best option. Blackadder is not big enough for an international 6 - he should join the queue at 7. Frizzell had the power and heft and line-out height to play lock, so maybe that is where the ABs should be looking, not at a 7 who’s not big enough for 6, but at a lock who might have the agility to play 6, like Scott Barrett, or… Natai Ah Kuoi, who absolutely fits that bill, but seldom gets to play 6 because the Chiefs have so many loosies.
41 Go to commentsPaul Quinn was a National MP.
7 Go to commentsNo need to worry about losers’ mentality hysteria from Australia. Finau has all the attributes, I don't recall a high or no arms tackle from him, and his timing has been controlled very well since the round 3 Lynagh tackle. It's an easy decision for Razor, the only question is who should back him up from the bench. He can't be overworked like Squire was in his first full season.
41 Go to comments