Rugby Australia to open contract extension talks with Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to keep him for 2027 World Cup
After a radical transformation of the Wallabies, coach Joe Schmidt is in big demand – but family will play a huge role in his decision, writes JAMIE PANDARAM.
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Rugby Australia will meet Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt in mid-December a bid to entice him to sign beyond the 2025 British & Irish Lions series and take charge of their 2027 World Cup campaign.
Schmidt has dramatically transformed the Wallabies from chumps to contenders, and after they pushed world No. 2 Ireland all the way in Dublin there is a renewed zest to keep the coach for a further two years.
RA has already made Schmidt aware that they want to extend his contract past August 2025, but the Kiwi has family considerations that will make his decision difficult.
Chief executive Phil Waugh has already flagged that RA is willing to get “creative” to keep Schmidt, but they will also respect his personal obligations.
Schmidt is now heading to the small southern Irish village of Churchtown where his daughter lives in the home he had when he was Ireland coach.
Following a week there with friends and family, he will fly to New Zealand to spend time with his son who has a health condition and then return to Sydney for talks with his employer.
Waugh told this masthead last month: “We’re certainly very respectful of Joe’s commitments both with us and outside of rugby and we will be working together over the next period of time to work through what’s the best outcome for him and his family.
“We’re pretty open-minded on what that may look like and can get reasonably creative on the set up of the team structure, but again we haven’t embarked on those conversations yet.”
Those conversations with Waugh and RA’s director of high performance, Peter Horne, will occur in a fortnight as the governing body looks for clarity around their planning for the 2027 home World Cup.
It’s clear that Schmidt has transformed the team, with the courageous 22-19 defeat to Ireland one of their most impressive defensive displays in years, gaining plaudits from fans after Ireland had a whopping 59 per cent possession and 74 per cent territory.
“It’s a very good performance, I thought our second half against the All Blacks in Sydney was probably as good as we went as well,” Schmidt said.
“We lost that one by three points as well.
“So when you’re losing by three to the All Blacks and Ireland, you do feel like you’re not that far away from the top table, that you can keep building and be competitive.
“And from a year last year where Portugal and Georgia were the only scalps, and a number of losses in and around that, and the disappointment of missing out on the playoff stages of the World Cup.
“But I’m heartened by where we’ve got to, and determined by what’s in front of us.”
The Lions series is just seven months away and the Wallabies will have limited preparation time, but the developments made on the spring tour gives the team a solid foundation from which to build.
“We’ll get together for a couple of days in January, 8 to 10, and that will allow us to sign off on this year and plot our way ahead, and then we get together a week or two before the Lions arrive,” Schmidt said.
“So that in itself is a real challenge, but I do think we’ve built enough confidence and cohesion this year that we can pick it up again in late June, early July next year.
“And that in itself is a challenge, but it’s a great challenge.
“That’s the way I’d see it, and certainly the way the players would see it as well, that challenge is balanced by opportunity. What a fantastic opportunity to play against the Lions. It’s usually only once that you get that chance, because it’s only once every 12 years.”
Originally published as Rugby Australia to open contract extension talks with Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to keep him for 2027 World Cup