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Nations Championship

Departing Wallabies coach Schmidt's message for Australian Rugby

AAP

Published: 18 July 2026 21:09 CDT

Joe Schmidt, head coach of the Wallabies hugs Tate McDermott of the Wallabies during the Nations Championship match between Australia Wallabies and Italy at HBF Park on July 18, 2026 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Joe Schmidt has given Australian rugby one important piece of advice before setting off into the sunset – make sure Australia’s Super Rugby teams get better.

Schmidt’s coaching stint at the Wallabies ended with a bang on Saturday night when Australia ran in nine tries to two in a crushing 57-10 Nations Championship win over Italy in Perth.

It marked Australia’s highest score in Schmidt’s two-and-a-half-year tenure and their largest on home soil since 2014.

Schmidt ends his Wallabies reign with 12 wins and 19 losses – a disappointing result on paper.

But the team has at least added significantly more depth since the Wallabies crashed out in the pool stage at the 2023 World Cup under Eddie Jones.

Les Kiss will now take over as Wallabies coach, with his biggest task to lead Australia to glory at the 2027 World Cup on home soil.

Schmidt will stick around for a tad longer, with the 60-year-old Kiwi to join the Australia A coaching staff as an assistant on a short-term deal.

The Wallabies are currently ranked eighth in the world – a far cry from their glory days in the 1990s and early 2000s when they were regularly a top-three side.

The fall in Australian rugby at international level has been reflected on the domestic front, with the likes of the Brumbies, Reds, Waratahs and Force struggling to break the stranglehold of NZ teams on the Super Rugby competition.

The last time an Australian team won the Super Rugby title was when the Waratahs triumphed in 2014, and no Australian team even made the semi-finals in 2026.

That’s a problem in Schmidt’s eyes.

“I do think we need to keep growing the strength and depth,” Schmidt said.

“I think one of the reasons … we lacked a bit of belief in the second halves in those two games (against Ireland and France) is that there hadn’t been as much success in Super Rugby.

“I think we’ve got to prove (and be) really competitive there, and not have four Kiwi teams playing off in semi-finals.

“But I see some of the young guys coming through, and I’m excited about maybe where that can go and the strength and depth we can we can build.”

Wallabies captain Harry Wilson believes the team grew immensely under Schmidt’s watch, despite the results not always going their way, especially over the past nine months.

“The fundamentals he’s taught us has really just made rugby a lot simpler for us,” Wilson said.

“Obviously Les will have his new ideas and stuff, but no doubt it will be very similar to Joe’s, and hopefully there’s some success in the future, and I’m sure (it will) be from Joe’s imprint.”

Josh Canham was the hero on Saturday night, with the 25-year-old becoming the first lock in Wallabies history to score a Test hat-trick.

The Wallabies were ruthless in the first half, running in six tries to one to set up the comprehensive win.

Kiss will take charge of the Wallabies for the first time when they take on Japan at Hanazono Rugby Stadium on August 8.

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