FEATURE Open-minded Schmidt takes hands-on approach to Australia challenge

He hasn’t yet put his feet under the desk of a physical office he may not use that much anyway, but new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is very clearly coming into his new role with absolutely no preconceptions.

Confirming that he’ll likely remain based at his Taupo home in New Zealand for most of his time before the international season, Schmidt spent much of his official unveiling at Rugby Australia’s Sydney headquarters last month underlining how completely unlike predecessor Eddie Jones he will be.

“I’m a pragmatic sort of individual, probably characterised as boring,” said Schmidt, sat next to RA CEO Phil Waugh and his former World Rugby High Performance colleague and new direct report at RA, Peter Horne.

“I don’t have the charisma that Eddie [Jones] has, but I’m really keen to get into clubs.

“I’ll probably be a little bit narrow focused on trying to get to know the people, get to help them perform at their best, combine it the best that we can as a team because I think the flagship will drive some of that interest and that interest will get kids aspiring to be part of what they see,” he said.

Already, that focus is said to have impressed the five Australian Super Rugby Pacific captains, after Schmidt made the seven-hour round trip from Taupo – in the central, volcanic region of New Zealand’s North Island – to Auckland to meet the captains who were in town for the Super Rugby Pacific season launch.

“It was great to meet him. I think Joe’s appointment for the game is going to be awesome,” injured ACT Brumbies skipper Allan Ala’alatoa told the Sydney Morning Herald of Schmidt’s commitment to a breakfast meeting in Auckland, while Queensland captain Tate McDermott spoke to just how open-minded he’ll come into the Wallabies job.

“He just wanted to get a perspective from all five captains around what happened in the past under (Dave Rennie) and also Eddie. Also, around the way we ran our weekly schedule, captain’s runs, all that stuff,” McDermott explained to the SMH.

I’d like to think that they’ll emerge with an experience that they’re desperate not to repeat, so they’ll work hard toward getting the cohesion amongst themselves

Schmidt doesn’t officially start his Australia role until this Friday, but unofficially, he’ll have been going the best part of two months by then. It’s hard to believe he wouldn’t have already spoken to the five state coaches by now, and though he said he intended to speak to both Rennie and Jones, it’s entirely plausible that he might have been touch with Wallabies coaches prior to them as well.

Clearly, he wants to learn all he can about Australian rugby and all the mirky details within it, and it’s equally clear the former assistant head teacher does that by talking to as many people as he can.

So, it was interesting to hear Schmidt speaking of an Australian team at last year’s Rugby World Cup that he said he just did not recognise, and of a determination he already sees in the playing group.

“I’d like to think that they’ll emerge with an experience that they’re desperate not to repeat, so they’ll work hard toward getting the cohesion amongst themselves,” he said at his first media conference as Wallabies coach.

“The only thing I’d probably ask is sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit patient with that.

“We’re going to have some players who will have been put on the back foot by that and if we can grow through the couple of Welsh games and the Georgia game (in July), I think what we’ve got in front of us is going to be really challenging and I’m excited about trying to help those young guys, especially, help them build their confidence and the repeatability of really positive performances.”

Repeatability was said to be one of his blueprints for the start of the Irish dynasty he set in motion back in 2013, and which looks set to culminate in a second straight Six Nations Grand Slam this season.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit,” goes a quote regularly misattributed to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, but well known regardless among the Ireland squad during Schmidt’s time.

Just as he needs the players potentially burned by their World Cup experience to step up and show they are capable of overcoming the pain, Schmidt also needs the players unexpectedly – or inexplicably – left behind to show they still have the drive and desire to compete at international level

Dave Rennie, too, used to speak about a desire – a need, even – for his Wallabies players of 2020 to 2022 to build the resilience and the habits they needed in their game to keep finding the repeat efforts required of them on the field at international level. The next carry, the next tackle, especially the next clean-out, and to force the next turnover.

It won’t be a new concept to the players when Schmidt does finally bring them together in his first camp of 2024.

So it’s not hard to imagine Schmidt liking what he saw from the Queensland Reds and the ACT Brumbies, both teams starting the Super Rugby Pacific season in encouraging fashion over the opening weekend.

He’ll have enjoyed the way both teams got in front early playing to their natural strengths, and especially the way they took the second-half opportunities to finish off any opposition comebacks before they were even realised.

Obviously, he’ll need more than two teams playing good rugby, and the challenge for the Melbourne Rebels, Western Force and New South Wales Waratahs from this weekend onwards will be to turn those moments they did enjoy in their respective opening games into longer periods of sustained excellence.

Repeat what worked well, find the level of excellence they need to succeed, and build the winning habits from there.

Schmidt said back at his unveiling that he was “desperate for the Wallabies to be competitive” when he puts his team onto the park later this year, but before then, his desperation needs to be mirrored by the Australian sides every time they run out to start a new game.

Just as he needs the players potentially burned by their World Cup experience to step up and show they are capable of overcoming the pain of what clearly was a disappointing campaign, Schmidt also needs the players unexpectedly – or inexplicably – left behind to show that they still have the drive and desire to compete at international level.

Schmidt says his mind is open as to what his first Wallabies squad looks like, and that’s a logical approach for any new international coach, not just a new Australian coach.

Ultimately, the more players Schmidt has demanding selection and making his job harder than he expected, the better the broader Australian rugby picture will be in 2024.