Joe Schmidt can’t afford to repeat Eddie Jones’ most costly Wallabies mistake

We can all agree that it’s pretty hard to answer a call when nobody dials your number and the phone doesn’t ring. It’s certainly not what Wallaby Len Ikitau deserved from Eddie Jones.

For all the promise that Ikitau had shown in Wallaby gold since debuting in 2021, the outside centre deserved to hear from coach Jones that he’d missed out on Australia’s Rugby World Cup squad.

But there was no explanation. The phone didn’t ring.

Ikitau, who was reportedly recovering well from a shoulder blade injury he picked up during The Rugby Championship, was left to question “what the hell is going on?”

“I was in contact with the doctor every couple of days and they had me on a conditioning program for a couple of weeks,” Ikitau told Rugby.com.au.

“They had this one-off Wallabies training if you were based in Brisbane. It was myself, Quade (Cooper), Taniela (Tupou) and the rest of the Brisbane boys.

“They trained for two days and then named the squad on the Friday and I saw Quade there and said, ‘I think I’m a chance to be in the squad’.

“When they said they were announcing, they were going to call all the players the night before and it wasn’t until 9:30 pm when I thought ‘what the hell is going on’ and I get a message from ‘Webby’ (team manager Chris Webb) to get in touch with Eddie and he’ll let you know what your plans are.

“I was like, ‘does that mean I’m not in the squad’ and he confirmed.”

Veterans Micheal Hooper and Quade Cooper dominated pretty well every headline after missing out on that Wallabies squad.

There was even a gigantic image of Hooper on the side of a building in Paris during the Rugby World Cup. Everyone expected the former Australia captain to be on that plane to France.

But the absence of those two fallen greats meant that Ikitau’s omission flew under the radar. It’s not like it went unnoticed, but the mess was swept under the rug.

It was easy too as well, with the defeats to Fiji and Wales – which led to their first-ever pool stage exit – just leading to more questions about Hooper and Cooper.

Young Carter Gordon was set up to fail in France, and after doing just that many took to social media to discuss what Cooper or Bernard Foley could’ve done in the Wallabies’ No. 10 jumper.

That became the talking point.

But Ikitau was rarely mentioned. The shortcomings of the Wallabies’ midfield wasn't discussed much. After nine Tests under coach Jones, it still wasn’t clear who Australia’s best centre pairing was.

Samu Kerevi had fallen away after a series of poor performances, and Jordan Petaia continues to fall below the high expectations set of him. Waratahs duo Lalakai Foketi and Izaia Perese are still a work in progress, too.

The only Wallabies centre who seems like a sure thing going into 2024 is Len Ikitau. Once again, that begs the question of why he wasn’t at the World Cup at all.

“I was just disappointed at the comms I received. A good head coach would’ve called you and told you why you weren’t in the team but at the end of the day we got the manager doing the rounds,” Ikitau said.

“I was disappointed with that and the reasoning around why I wasn’t in the squad was because they didn’t want to take injured players and there was three or four injured guys in there.

“It was quite disappointing because at least be honest with the reason why I wasn’t in the team.

“I was ready (for the World Cup). I was already on the way to Barbarians and thought I was fit to play but I sent (Eddie Jones) a message saying I’m ready to go if anything happens and he just wrote back ‘that’s good’.”

It was a campaign that many want to forget, but to do that would be a bigger travesty than even the pool stage exit. The Wallabies need to learn as they prepare to usher in a new era.

Last Friday at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, Joe Schmidt walked into the press conference room as the Wallabies’ third head coach in as many years. Schmidt has signed on with Rugby Australia through until at least the end of next year’s British and Irish Lions series.

It’s a big coup for the sport Down Under. By securing the services of the former World Rugby Coach of the Year, the Wallabies have already taken a step forward.

Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies won’t take the field for quite a while yet with Warren Gatland’s Wales set to play a couple of Tests in Australia later this year.

But let’s just hope that Schmidt doesn’t make the same mistake as Jones. No, not necessarily by overlooking Hooper or Cooper, but the mistake that defined the Wallabies’ woes.

Schmidt, to his credit, is one of the smartest coaches in international rugby. It would be both nightmarish and surprising to see the New Zealander make the same mistakes as his predecessor.

The absence of Len Ikitau was Eddie Jones’ biggest mistake. Ikitau, 25, is the glue to the Wallabies’ defensive structure – the type of player you build a backline around.

If the Wallabies are serious about winning Tests in 2024, then Len Ikitau needs to play. If not, serious questions will need to be asked about whether they consider winning a genuine possibility at all.