'Australian rugby has suffered from string of wrongly recruited Kiwis'

Former Scotland coach Matt Williams has blamed Kiwi coaches for negatively implementing a New Zealand style of play on the struggling Wallabies that has stunted their half-back development for quite some time. Robbie Deans (2008-13) and Dave Rennie (2020-22) both had stints in charge of Australia that failed to deliver success.

Australian rugby authorities have again looked across the Tasman to recruit their latest Test team boss, Joe Schmidt taking over following Eddie Jones’ calamitous misadventure at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

However, while Schmidt is cut from the same Kiwi cloth as Deans and Rennie, Williams believes the ex-Ireland boss can do better than his fellow New Zealanders who were previously in charge of the Wallabies.

Australia begin their 2024 Rugby Championship campaign this Saturday with a home match in Brisbane versus South Africa and ahead of that opener, Williams has taken a pop at the legacy of having Deans and Rennie in charge.

Writing in his latest weekly Irish Times column, the ex-Leinster coach claimed: “Schmidt was not the people’s choice for the role. Australian rugby has suffered from a string of wrongly recruited Kiwis, either as coaches or chief executives, who have disastrously driven the game in Australia so far away from its DNA that players of this generation have lost their understanding of Australian rugby’s unique identity.

“So it is understandable that the Aussie locals are highly sceptical of yet another New Zealander getting the gig as the Wallabies boss. When a leading RA official asked me for my opinion of Schmidt coaching the Wallabies, I told him that Schmidt is one of the best coaches I have ever seen but he badly lost his way in 2019.

“However, good coaches can learn from their errors and I believe that in time Joe will be a huge positive for the Wallabies. The vast majority of Wallaby supporters do not have the same opinion and they sit firmly in the 'Doubting Thomas' category. They need to see a lot of wins before they will believe in Schmidt.

“Success will be a struggle for Schmidt because the production line of Australian world-class creative halves has simply stopped. For half a century the Wallabies were renowned for their exceptional halves that could create space and then exploit it. Nick Farr-Jones, George Gregan, Mark Ella, Michael Lynagh and Stephen Larkham are all-time greats.

“Over the past two decades, their legacy has been abandoned by coaches who imposed a Kiwi style of play on to young Australian halves. This has resulted in them losing their understanding of how to play a uniquely Australian style of game.

“None of this was of Schmidt’s making but it is his deepest problem. As they say in boxing, you can only punch with the fists you have, and Schmidt can only select the players at his disposal.”