Schmidt’s Oz gig a promoter’s dream

Joe Schmidt opened his account as the new Wallabies coach by saying he is not in the business of selling dreams, but his appointment as Eddie Jones’ successor has turned this season’s Rugby Championship into a promoter’s dream.

The Wallabies will be better than the muddled mob that Jones sold as a dream that proved to be the worst nightmare in their history.

With Schmidt (Australia), Scott Robertson (New Zealand), Felipe Contepomi (Argentina) and Rassie Erasmus (back in the Bok coaching hot seat), it is as good as it gets in world rugby when talking about coach showdowns. Michael Cheika’s departure from the Pumas was a surprise, given they made it to the World Cup semifinal.

The initial whispers were that Cheika, a former Wallabies coach, was the favourite to succeed Jones, who quit after Australia failed to make it to the quarterfinals for the first time in World Cup history.

Schmidt, an assistant to fellow New Zealander Vern Cotter at the (Auckland) Blues and Clermont in France’s Top 14, took on the challenge of Leinster as his first head coaching gig.

He translated that success to the Irish national team as head coach between 2013 and 2019 — overseeing their first-ever win against the All Blacks, and their first-ever

Irish triumph over the Springboks in South Africa. He won three Six Nations tournaments and he was influential in turning Ireland from international rugby’s pretenders to a world No 1 contender.

Schmidt returned to his native New Zealand in 2020, following his resignation as Ireland coach, and he was instrumental in shaping the All Blacks campaign when Ian Foster belatedly drafted him into the coaching structure a year before the 2023 World Cup.

Schmidt brought rugby intellect and attention to detail to the All Blacks, who were a mess under Foster, and the New Zealanders were a conversion kick away from stunning

Schmidt’s battles with Robertson, Contepomi and Erasmus this season will be the equal of the best chess grandmasters

the Springboks in the 2023 World Cup final, which the Boks won 12-11.

Schmidt refused an offer to work with Robertson, who replaced Foster, and he also did not apply for the All Blacks head coaching role when it became clear Foster’s contract would not be renewed.

The title of his autobiography — Ordinary Joe — speaks to how understated Schmidt is as a media personality, but he is certainly no ordinary Joe when it comes to his rugby brain. His battles with Robertson, Contepomi and Erasmus this season will be the equal of the best chess grandmasters.

The Kiwi connection, with Schmidt and Robertson both being New Zealanders, will add spice to the Bledisloe Cup, and Schmidt’s knowledge of the current All Blacks — having worked so intimately with them for the past year — will be invaluable as the Wallabies look to win back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in more than 20 years.

Robertson’s success as head coach of the Crusaders — with seven successive Super Rugby titles — is unprecedented, with Robbie Deans the closest to Robertson in titles won as Crusaders coach. Deans, as the Wallabies coach, never had the same strike rate when at the Crusaders, although it could be argued he was working with less player quality.

Robertson will still be working within the New Zealand structure, which makes his international transition different to that of Deans, while many believe the Pumas will be stronger having an Argentinean in charge, especially one of their most decorated international players in former flyhalf, centre Contepomi.

Erasmus, a double World Cup winner with the Springboks in 2019 (as head coach) and 2023 (as national director of rugby, chief selector and master strategist) will focus exclusively on the Springboks as head coach.

Erasmus is chasing a third successive World Cup title against the most potent international coach pack that includes Warren Gatland (Wales), Fabian Galthie (France), Andy Farrell (Ireland) and the terrific southern hemisphere trio of Robertson, Schmidt and Contepomi.

If Rassie wanted a challenge to keep him interested until the 2027 World Cup, he has been given one.