Schmidt’s verdict on Wallabies tenure
The signs were clear on Monday that this was Joe Schmidt’s last day in Rugby Australia.
The outgoing head coach had replaced the standard Wallabies polo with an open-neck, light blue polo. He had also spent the entire night not to review match tapes but to watch his compatriot Ryan Fox, son of All Blacks great Grant Fox, win the British Open in golf.
Schmidt’s 31st and final Wallabies Test ended with a 47-point win over Italy in Perth on Saturday. Its successor, Les Kiss, will name its first squad on Thursday. The handover is almost complete and although he is immensely proud of the Wallabies team he handed over to Kiss, Schmidt has no regrets about his tenure.
“There will always be regrets and there will always be disappointments, because I think everyone involved in this level of performance is trying to aim for perfection.” [while] knowing that he was unattainable,” Schmidt said.
“So I think we’ve made good progress, we’re certainly not close to perfect, but in my humble opinion we’re in a better place than when I arrived.
“In the dark days, in the last two games of the year [against Italy and France in November]We were all really tired while the kids were hanging out there. I spent four days in bed at the end of that tour because I think I let myself down so much that I caught a serious dose of man flu.
“Although I was resilient, it drained me for a while. But I have no regrets about my determination. I regret that we couldn’t finish a few chances. I converted them and got the result that I think the players won.”
The details of those 31 Tests – tries, tackles, penalties awarded – remain fresh in Schmidt’s mind. Drought-breaking Ellis Park victory over South Africa and Third Test win against British and Irish Lions It was savored, but the Lions series loss and Close defeat to New Zealand at Eden Park it still hurts.
Still, the coach remains proud of his achievements in rebuilding the team from the rubble of the 2023 World Cup disaster under Eddie Jones.
“I probably would [rate this job as his most challenging]”I didn’t know anyone when I came here for the first time,” he said, and continued: “There were two other employees, so we didn’t have a coach. We had no real support staff because there was a complete clean-up after the World Cup.
“And a lot of players, even after the World Cup, were either unavailable or there were some players who were left out and were on the verge of going abroad. So it was about convincing them that we could still come together and be competitive.”
“It was challenging but I learned a lot in that window and I loved the challenge. Sometimes I loved the results, [but] In fact, the results of some of these games made me depressed too.”
Kiss will inherit a happier and more confident team than Schmidt, but the New Zealander remains concerned about the purchasing power of clubs in France and its impact on Australia’s next generation of rugby talent.
“It’s very difficult for Rugby Australia to catch everyone,” Schmidt said. “There are 30 professional clubs in France and Heinz Lemoto would be a good example when they go after players. I thought he was a really talented kid in the Australian system but they [French clubs] get them early.
“So they can call them JIFF [French qualified] You’re a player like Manny Meafou, and then all of a sudden you’re competing with your own player. “We played France and they had three Australians, three very good Australians, so unfortunately it’s going to continue like that.”
Rugby Australia’s Moore Park headquarters are a stone’s throw from the NRL’s Rugby League Centre, which has often left Schmidt reflecting on the battle between the rules for the best young talent in Australia.
“I think rugby league will always be a challenge, especially with the loose forward, midfield and wing positions,” Schmidt said. “I would look from the outside and think: Why doesn’t Rugby Australia take all these really good kids out of school and give them academy scholarships?
“But academy scholarships are very tough going compared to what some competitors can offer.”
Victory in Perth was followed by emotional scenes as the Wallabies lined up to hug the departing coach from the team they had formed such a close bond with. What was Schmidt’s final message to the players he will now be watching from afar?
“Sometimes they get on my nerves with some of the phrases I use, but one of the things they probably don’t take away is that belief is the foundation and trust is the glue. I truly believe that,” Schmidt said.
“When we build self-belief and truly know that we are good enough, then we can trust ourselves and each other, and that trust is the unifier. It’s the connective tissue.”
“So I’ll probably try to leave them with that message: Trust yourself, trust each other, and build that belief across some skill sets and some strategies around the game.”
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