How Rugby Australia convinced coach Joe Schmidt to extend his stay ahead of Les Kiss’ arrival
Joe Schmidt was meant to leave the Wallabies this year, with one eye on the health and wellbeing of his wife and son. He’s signed on until mid-2026 after a special gesture from Rugby Australia.
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Joe Schmidt was convinced to extend his term as Wallabies coach by another nine months after Rugby Australia helped organise living arrangements for his wife and son in Sydney.
Schmidt had been firmly committed to ending his tenure in August after the Lions series, and then in October following The Rugby Championship, because his son suffers from epilepsy and requires constant care. Schmidt’s wife has been providing that care on her own for much of the time in New Zealand.
But RA stepped in to offer help relocating them to Sydney for lengthy periods of time until next July, sealing Schmidt’s extension before Les Kiss takes over.
“It’s funny, it seemed like a long time but then by the time I’d already agreed to do TRC it didn’t seem that much further into the future, so I suppose as you stack them up it didn’t seem like an extra year, it seemed like an extra six months or eight months,” Schmidt said.
“The friendship (with Rugby Australia head of high performance Peter Horne) goes back a long way, that made that a lot easier, and you know the family situation, the support from RA around just maybe getting the family over a little bit more often to Sydney where I’m usually based, that made it a little bit easier as well.
“I feel that I’m getting some balance, and supporting my wife in her commitment to looking after our son, and our son getting a bit of growth at the same time.
“I’m really happy with the outcome, I think it’s a great outcome for me personally and my family, and it’s one that’s not too much of a stretch to stay in the role.”
There is no formal role for Schmidt beyond next July, although Kiss and Horne suggested he could play an advisory role for the 2027 World Cup.
Schmidt is more concerned with improving his golf game and fishing than thinking of another head coaching role beyond 2026.
“I don’t foresee that,” Schmidt said.
“But I know the privilege and I know how many people would love to do a job like this, and so it’s something that for a small town kid born in Kawakawa, New Zealand, it’s been a fantastic opportunity for me and those opportunities to see the world for my family has been great as well.
“So it’s not something that I’d ever rule out completely, but it’s definitely not in my plans.
“You know, that boat on the lake and trying to get my golf handicapped down – don’t ask me what it is at the present time – that’d be a couple of really ambitious goals that I’d have beyond the end of July next year.”
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Originally published as How Rugby Australia convinced coach Joe Schmidt to extend his stay ahead of Les Kiss’ arrival