‘I thought I’d retired’: Why Joe Schmidt embraced ‘unique’ Wallabies ‘challenge’

New Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt couldn’t guarantee “that I’ll succeed” in the role after making a surprising admission about his career back in New Zealand.

Schmidt, 58, rose to international coaching stardom during a glistening six-year stint with Ireland which included landmark victories over New Zealand and South Africa, as well as a few Six Nations crowns.

Ireland emerged as the world’s best team during Schmidt’s reign, but luck wasn’t on their side at the 2019 World Cup. The Irish bowed out in the quarters – again – and their coach left soon after.

Having returned home to the nation of his birth, New Zealand, and before he landed a role with the All Blacks, Schmidt “thought I’d retired.”

But after helping New Zealand reach the World Cup final last year, Schmidt was today (January 19) officially unveiled as the Wallabies’ newest head coach at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium.

Schmidt revealed that Rugby Australia’s incoming director of high performance, Peter Horne, and advisor David Nucifora played a part in the new Wallabies coach deciding to embrace the “unique challenge.”

“With those guys in those place I thought it was a good opportunity to try and pitch in and get Australia up and running because I do think the World Cup was not an Australian team that I recognised,” Schmidt told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

“There’s this period of time now to work out how and what’s next, but that’s when it first came on my radar.

“I’m probably a little bit surprised that I’m here. I thought I’d retired when I went back to New Zealand but I’m very poor at doing that, obviously being involved with the Blues and the All Blacks since then.

“I’m pretty excited. This is a really unique challenge.”

Schmidt is the Wallabies’ third head coach in as many years. Dave Rennie and Eddie Jones were first and second, but the hiring of Schmidt is undoubtedly Rugby Australia’s biggest coup.

Following the previously mentioned stint with Ireland, and the All Blacks as well, Schmidt has only signed a short-term deal with Rugby Australia.

Schmidt is contracted through to the end of next year’s British and Irish Lions Tour which finishes in early August. From there, Rugby Australia and Schmidt may reassess but there is still plenty of uncertainty about the Wallabies' future.

“It’s pretty much public knowledge that I have a young man at home who suffers quite badly with epilepsy and this job will take me away from the time I’d sort of committed to pitching in and helping him out,” Schmidt explained.

“If we can get the job done over the next 18 months and we can get the momentum heading in the right direction, I’ll feel like I’ve done my part of it and I’ll be happy to hand on or if there are some Australian coaches who come through, I’ll be really keen to help get some of the Australian coaches a little bit more experienced as well.

“It’s certainly not a hit-and-run,” Schmidt added. “I think for both RA and myself, it just is a good fit at that time.

“If you were going to make a change before the World Cup, you don’t want to do it a year out. You want to make sure you’ve got a decent run at it.

“If we get to the end of the British and Irish Lions series and things are going in the right direction… (if) the best thing is for me to stay then that’s a bridge we’ll cross then.”

With the Wallabies bowing out of  the 2023 World Cup before the quarter-finals – a record low for the team – the opportunity to start anew and build awaits Australian rugby.

Success might not come right away, but as Schmidt explained, it’s essential the Wallabies return to the heights that made the team such a formidable force 20 years ago.

“I’m desperate for the Wallabies to be competitive, and if I can help, that’s why I’m here.

“I think the global rugby family is desperate for the Wallabies to be where they need to be. British and Irish Lions, they want to have a fantastic series so we want to build toward that and give them exactly what they want and not make anything easy for them.

“Two years after that you’ve got a home World Cup.

“I’m desperate that the Wallabies are really competitive in that World Cup and we get through to those really competitive playoff rounds.”