Joe Schmidt is adamant that the Wallabies are making progress, and the soon-to-depart coach remains confident of leaving the national side in a strong place for his successor, Les Kiss.
After five defeats in their past six Tests, the blowtorch has suddenly come on Schmidt as he not only reaches the home stretch of his time with the Wallabies but the twilight of his head coaching career.
The New Zealander is due to pass the baton on following next July’s three Nations Cup fixtures against Ireland, Italy and France.
The coaching changeover was concocted by Rugby Australia after it was determined that Kiss would take over following his third and final season with the Queensland Reds.
But after the Wallabies’ recent struggles, the former World Rugby coach of the year has come under fire for his dour playing style, which has seen the men in gold struggle to score points and lose on the field.
The latest effort was a 26-19 defeat to world No.10 Italy.
Joe Schmidt has a big job on his hands to finish his tenure as Wallabies coach on a positive footing. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Former Test playmaker Matt Giteau described the Wallabies as being “rudderless” and said, “it felt like we never threw anything at them”.
The defeat was a blow to the Wallabies’ hopes of finishing in the top six in the World Rugby rankings ahead of the 2027 World Cup draw in December.
The Wallabies can still, however, finish in the top six this weekend, with Schmidt’s side needing to beat Ireland by more than 15 points and hope that Argentina stumbles in Edinburgh against Scotland.
Despite the increasingly restless and anxious Australian rugby public, Schmidt said he remained upbeat about the Wallabies’ short and long-term prospects.
“I feel like we’re making progress, and I know that people are impatient,” Schmidt told reporters in Dublin after making six changes to his side for Sunday’s (7:10am AEDT) Test against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
The pressure building on Schmidt to turn the Wallabies around is a position the New Zealander has been in previously.
Indeed, there were calls for Schmidt to go from Leinster when the Irish heavyweights didn’t immediately get the results they wanted after succeeding Michael Cheika.
But it wasn’t long before Leinster were back in the winner’s circles, as Schmidt led the Irish club to back-to-back European crowns.
“I’ll never forget my start with Leinster, and you talk about losing in Italy, losing in Treviso, game four. The experienced boys had just come back in, the Irish lads, and apparently I’d lost the dressing room, and the first question I was asked at the press conference was, ‘Joe, is this the beginning of the end of Leinster rugby?’” Schmidt recalled.
“I thought that was a little bit melodramatic.
“But I think if you just keep working hard, and you’ve got a motivated group, and you have a growth mindset, then you can hopefully arrive somewhere that maybe strikes beyond the expectation that people had.”
Joe Schmidt addresses the Wallabies on their end of year tour. Photo: Julius Dimataga, Rugby Australia
Despite the increasing noise, Schmidt added that he felt no different to usual when his side hadn’t performed to their expectations.
“I take it pretty hard when we lose,” he said.
“I take it pretty hard when we don’t play to our potential, because that’s all we can control.
“And you’re emotionally connected to the job.
“It’s one of those privileges of being so invested in something, but it’s also a blight when things don’t go well.
“It’s not something that I’m not unfamiliar with now. I’m familiar enough with those periods of pressure where things haven’t gone right, and all you can do is just keep working as best you can.”
Schmidt said seeing family in recent days had proved to be a positive distraction.
“My brother lives in Blackrock,” Schmidt said. “My son is back living in Churchtown after a few years in Melbourne, so I caught up with the family on Tuesday for a bit of dinner – and that’s part of the balance as well.
“Family’s always a great kind of distraction and opportunity to just be able to step outside the bubble you’re in, which can eat away at you a little bit and breathe for a few hours.”
Interestingly, Schmidt said he planned on catching up with his former skipper Rory Best on Friday.
The pair had a strong relationship, but the former hooker said in 2020 that Schmidt’s all-encompassing coaching methods had proved stuffy in 2019 and potentially detrimental to their World Cup hopes in Japan.
“I think we started to become – not dictated to – but we just let Joe do everything,” Best said about Schmidt.
“The great thing about 2018 was we had our own voice and our own mind. There was that freedom at the end of the week to step into a space to lead. You can’t just turn up at the Aviva Stadium at five o’clock ‘Right, it’s our turn to lead.’ You can get a bit lost.
“I think in 2019 that end of the week space started to be filled a bit much with coaches.”
Les Kiss will succeed Joe Schmidt as Wallabies coach. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Schmidt later talked through the comments with Best, but the stain of the comments was left.
Asked about how he felt as approached his final Test at the Aviva Stadium, Schmidt said he was looking forward to returning without the pressure of being the head man.
“I know this may sound bizarre, but I’ve always thought when we used to go into the stadium, and you drive past the Sandy Mount Hotel, and look at all those people having pints, and really enjoying themselves, and I’m feeling like I’m in this sardine can of pressure, and I’ll look out there and I think one day I’m going to get amongst those people, and then I’m going to drift into that stadium, and I’m going to enjoy watching a game, where I’m not so emotionally hanging off everything that happens,” he said.
“I’ve been looking forward to finishing for a long time, and it was a phone call from a mate of mine that had me end up here, and I’ve got to say I’ve really enjoyed it.
“I still really enjoy the on-field coaching, and the interactions with a motivated group of people.
“We’ve got a neat staff. They’re a great staff, and the boys have been great, and we’re getting better.”
Schmidt once again referenced a book he had read called Turn the Boat Around, which speaks about legacy.
The New Zealander, who has won just five of 13 Tests in 2025, insisted that his successor, Kiss, would be left in a strong position to take the Wallabies forward.
“You want to leave things set up, and that was really my commitment to Les, and to Rugby Australia, that I try to leave it so it’s ready to go,” he said.