Ex-Wallaby slams Joe Schmidt appointment as a ‘bad move’ that will ‘end in tears’

Former Wallabies player Greg Martin is unhappy that Rugby Australia (RA) have brought in another New Zealander to become their head coach.

On Friday, the governing body announced that Joe Schmidt had signed a deal until at least the conclusion of the 2025 British and Irish Lions series.

Schmidt is the latest Kiwi to take the reins of the Australian national team, following on from Robbie Deans and Dave Rennie.

Unsuccessful stints

He will hope to make a better success of it than those two talented coaches, who ultimately failed to deliver what was expected of them.

Although Deans lasted five years in the job, he was heavily criticised during his tenure and duly resigned midway through a Rugby World Cup cycle following their heavy 41-16 defeat to the Lions in 2013.

Meanwhile, Rennie, who was appointed in 2020, was sacked just a few months out from the 2023 World Cup.

Despite his replacement, Eddie Jones, faring even worse and leading them to a pool stage exit at the global tournament, Martin feels that New Zealanders shouldn’t be in charge of the Wallabies.

“Robbie Deans was appointed as the Wallaby coach about 10 years ago then Dave Rennie only about five years ago and was sacked for Eddie Jones,” Martin said on his Triple M Breakfast with Marto, Margaux & Dan show.

“So, we’ve had two Kiwis, and both times it’s ended in tears and we’re about to go down the same track.”

Schmidt became the favourite for the role once RA hired his close ally Peter Horne as their high performance director.

They also brought in David Nucifora – who worked with the 58-year-old in Ireland – as an advisor, which meant the former All Blacks attack coach was the obvious choice to succeed Jones.

Martin’s preference

There were a number of Australians in the frame, however, with Stephen Larkham, Dan McKellar and Michael Cheika the most high profile, and Martin felt that the 1999 World Cup winner should have been given the responsibility.

“We needed Stephen Larkham, we needed a bloke who has won a World Cup who is an Australian,” he said.

“We’re going to overlook another Australian … for another Kiwi to coach Australia, bad move in my mind!”

Schmidt’s reign begins with a Test series against Wales before they head into the Rugby Championship and the November matches in the northern hemisphere.

Then comes the priority for Australian rugby, which is the Lions series in 2025, but Martin has questioned whether the 58-year-old will even be in charge by that point.

“We’ll get beaten by the Kiwis in July and August and everyone will go, ‘Oh well, that was a dud!’ We’ll sack him (Joe Schmidt) and we’ll be back in the same position again,” he added.

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