Joe Schmidt hints at how success will dictate the length of his Wallaby tenure
Joe Schmidt admits a competitive showing against the touring and British and Irish Lions next year will be a key factor in whether or not he stays on to coach the Wallabies at the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Schmidt signed on as the replacement for Eddie Jones for only two years as he juggles family commitments including the care of his son Luke, who has epilepsy.
The Kiwi has been splitting his time between Australia and working remotely from his home at Lake Taupo on New Zealand’s North Island since being appointed in January.
As much as the lure of playing for the Wallabies at a home World Cup in four years is a big one, so it seems the case for the coach.
Tickets for the 2025 Lions tour went on sale on Monday, when Schmidt made it clear he was using the once-a-generation three-Test match-up as something of a barometer for the Wallabies and how they are tracking two years out from the next global showpiece.
Schmidt said he was using the initial part of his reign to “reset” after Australia’s disastrous 10-month campaign under Jones last year when the Wallabies failed to progress out of the World Cup group stages for the first time and lost seven of nine Tests.
Now at an all-time low at No.10 in the world, the Wallabies will face the best of the best from Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, who are all ranked above Australia, when they take on the Lions.
“I’ve given myself, I guess, a foundation period where if we can get that done, then we can build again from there,” said 58-year-old Schmidt who hired veteran forwards coach Laurie Fisher, 65, last week as his first assistant.
“It’s a little bit promising at the moment and the discussions I’ve had with (Australian) Super Rugby coaches have been really, really positive so far.
“There’s been some positives in those small steps and it’s about not being outcome-focused, it’s about building a process and how we deliver what we do.
“So if we can build that over the next four months (before the Test season starts) and then through the next period of time with the national team, I think it will give us the springboard to be competitive with the Lions.”
Asked directly if his decision to stay on until the 2027 World Cup would be based on Australia’s performance against the Lions, Schmidt said: “We’re a bit of an aged staff with myself and Laurie, so we’re going to need something to keep us going.”
“But one of the things that I love about rugby is it does make you feel a little bit youthful because you’re working with young men who are incredibly motivated.
“And so you get kind of dragged along with that energy that they bring and so I don’t have any doubts about the energy that Laurie and I will bring.”
Schmidt has also brought on Irish analyst Eoin Toolan and says he will finalise his support staff in coming weeks – and that it won’t be a big team.
“I’ve worked with Owen before as well and I think his eye for detail around the game will be an asset for us as well,” said the respected mentor who guided Ireland to the top world ranking for the first time.
“You’ll see over the next week or two that we will be fleshing that stuff out by another one or two people in the coaching area.
“And then we’ll build the rest of the backroom staff around the strength and conditioning, the medical side of it, the nutritional side of it, but we won’t have a massive staff.
“It’ll be a fairly small select group.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to comments