Finding best Wallabies side will take time: Schmidt

[Burgs]

Wed, May 1, 2024, 12:34 PM
AAP

Coach Joe Schmidt admits he probably won't know his best Wallabies starting side until the end of the spring tour in December, as he builds towards next year's British and Irish Lions series.

Schmidt said while he'd love to break New Zealand's 21-year stranglehold on the Bledisloe Cup this year, he's playing the long game - with 2025's incoming series the target.

Australia's first Tests under the Kiwi coach are against Wales in Sydney on July 6 and Melbourne a week later, while they play a one-off Test against World Cup foes Georgia back at Allianz Stadium on July 20.

The Bledisloe Cup is a two-Test series as part of the Rugby Championship in late September, before they will hunt a grand slam on the spring tour to the UK and Ireland.

Schmidt said, while he will pick the "best available" team to take on Wales, it could take all 13 Tests - the last of the year coming against his former side Ireland on December 1 - before he's clear on his first-choice line-up.

He has been scouring the options at the five Australian Super Rugby Pacific sides and said there is an exciting mix of fresh faces and experience in the selection pot.

"We started with a list that was about three deep in every position and that list has been jumbled around," Schmidt said on Wednesday at an announcement of afternoon kickoffs for three home Tests.

"Names have appeared on the bottom of it and the list has grown.

"That's confusing a little bit for me, and makes more work because I'm trying to track different players - but it's exciting."

Asked when he would know his best 15 he said "early December".

"When you learn most around players and selection is when you've had time with them," Schmidt said.

"I'm looking forward to the end-of-year tour to have a little bit more time with them.

"It's probably facetious to say early December but that's when we'll get a bit more growth from the team.

"Through these early games we'll know our best available 15 when we name it to play Wales.

"We're taking it one step at a time but we want to be really competitive from the first kick-off.

"We want to be as competitive as we can be when the Lions arrive - that's my massive target, that's the pinnacle that's next up."

While not ruling out overseas selection completely, Schmidt plans to prioritise Super Rugby players over those such as Japan-based winger Marika Koroibete or World Cup skipper Will Skelton, who is in France.

He said picking local helped with combinations and cohesion within the Wallabies, while it also encouraged the best players to stay home and strengthen the Super teams.

Australia's teams have performed notably better in the win-loss ratio against the Kiwis this season, with Schmidt wanting to see more consistency and an improvement in closing out tight games.

"It's probably fluctuated a little bit, like the Bledisloe have in the last two years, where being competitive one week hasn't necessarily materialised into being competitive the next week.

"Driving that consistency of performance is massively important, so trying to build that is going to be part of the challenge."

[Burgs]

Worth taking the 24 minutes to watch the Media Conference imbedded in the first post-
https://www.rugby.com.au/news/findin...schmidt-202451

Really impressed with Jumbuck Joe's use of "we", particularly when pressed about playing NZ and referring to historical performances.
Words that come to mind are, humble, controlled, quietly determined/driven and very very focused.
Also pleasing hearing his thoughts and rationale around Overseas players.

[Burgs]

Schmidt embracing 'unique' Wallabies challenge with countdown underway for opening Wales Test

Thu, Jun 6, 2024, 3:25 PM
Nathan Williamson

Joe Schmidt is welcoming the 'unique' challenge of getting the best of the Wallabies as the countdown to the Test calendar begins.

It is exactly one month until the new Wallabies coach will take charge in his opening game against Wales in Sydney on July 6.

Catch every game of Super Rugby Pacific LIVE, ad-free and on demand on Stan Sport.

Schmidt comes in as one of the most experienced and successful coaches in World Rugby, recently helping New Zealand to the World Cup Final as an assistant after a decade of dominance with Ireland.

“Every challenge is unique and I think coaching the Wallabies is going to be unique but I think my past experiences they’re always useful," Schmidt told Wallabies Media.

“They are just experiences but aren’t solutions. They don’t drive a particular direction but they allow a few different perspectives that have leaked into the lens of how I view the game from and the people who play the game.

“I think that’s all useful when you look at a group of athletes to get players together in the most cohesive fashion to make sure they enjoy the experience and understand the experiences is going to be important."

The former Irish boss will name his first squad in the coming weeks, with a wider satellite group of players from the Force and Waratahs already in training.


It leaves Schmidt with limited time to build a cohesive unit with the Rugby Championship and a stacked Spring Tour on the horizon.

“July 6 looks a far way away but it also looks like tomorrow," he explained.

“To get a team operating as a really positive unit. That’s a massive challenge.

“I think you’ve got to get your playing group together, get alongside your other staff, determine what the best direction is to go and then try and really build some trademarks.

“Any team that doesn’t have a solid set piece is going to be vulnerable and any team that doesn’t look after the ball or a strategy around where they want to go, how they want to deliver the game will be inconsistent if you don’t have that clarity.”

He has spent the majority of his time as Wallabies coach travelling around to the respective clubs in order to get the best out of them, with the Queensland Reds, ACT Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels into the Super Rugby Pacific finals.

“Getting around the clubs has been really beneficial to me and hopefully the Super club coaches have got something out of it as well," he added.

“I’m hoping it’s conducive to the continuity of player performance so they come out of Super and flow into Wallabies rather than completely reframing things.

“It doesn’t mean those teams play the same way, it just means players have an expectation around how they need to perform."