Joe Schmidt outlines why the Rugby Championship does not ‘get any easier’
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt ahead of their Test against Wales.
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt acknowledged that the Rugby Championship does not get any easier, with two Tests in Argentina to come.
That’s what the tactician had to say after Australia lost their second Test in as many weeks against the Springboks 30-12 in Perth on Saturday. The results leave the side at the foot of the table with four rounds to go.
Schmidt stood up for his squad and clearly underlined how much the Wallabies jersey means to these players and how desperately they want to perform well for their country.
“Firstly, they are a great bunch of men, and they are incredibly proud to play for their country, and incredibly disappointed not, not to be successful when they are playing for their country,” Schmidt said after the game.
Tough tournament
The Wallabies boss pointed out that the Rugby Championship consists of three of the four semi-finalists from last year’s Rugby World Cup and is predicting a tough tour of Argentina.
“One of the things about this competition is it’s not going to get any easier. We play three of the four semi-finalists, and we weren’t one of them. So it doesn’t get easier going to Argentina next.
“They’ll be disappointed with their first half tonight, earlier tonight, but you know, they demonstrated just how tough they can be to beat when they toppled the All Blacks and didn’t even give them a bonus point,” the head coach said.
An old friend
Facing Argentina means Schmidt will be squaring up with an old friend for the first time with their respective teams and the New Zealand-born coach only had good to say about Los Pumas boss Felipe Contepomi.
“I’ve known Felipe Contepomi for a long time. I have a lot of respect for his rugby intellect, and he’s a top man, but being friends certainly stops at kick-off, though. They won’t be taking it easy on us, and we’ll try to make things difficult for them.”
There is a week break in the tournament before Argentina hosts the Wallabies on August 31 before the second Test a week later on September 7.
