Rugby Australia issue update on Joe Schmidt’s future after key deadline passes

Joe Schmidt in November 2024 and the Wallabies head coach alongside Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh.
Rugby Australia (RA) chief executive Phil Waugh has revealed why Joe Schmidt’s future has not yet been resolved after a deadline passed at the start of this year.
Waugh had stated that they expected it to be sorted by the end of 2024, but nothing has been agreed 20 days into 2025.
The 59-year-old signed a deal with the governing body until the end of the British and Irish Lions series following the Eddie Jones debacle, which saw them exit the Rugby World Cup at the pool stages.
Since being named Wallabies boss, Schmidt has overseen a gradual improvement with them, ending the 2024 season with a superb victory over England at Twickenham.
Schmidt’s influence
There are now hopes that Australia will be competitive when the Lions visit in July due to the influence of the New Zealander.
However, his stay may not last beyond that tour because of the head coach’s personal circumstances as he does not want to be away from his son Luke, who suffers from severe epilepsy.
RA are still hopeful that they can tie him down until the conclusion of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, which includes the governing body getting “creative” with their negotiations, and Waugh duly issued an update on their talks.
“There’s obviously a lot of interest in this element, and Joe’s been fantastic since he came as national coach at the start of 2024,” he told SEN.
“We’re still working through [it].
“We talked through the fact that we’d have liked to have closed the position by the end of 2024, but that’s obviously crept into 2025 and we’re still working through with Joe, and others, around what post the Lions looks like to ensure we have the right environment, the right culture and the right performance from our Wallabies.
“So it’s a work in progress around what the future looks like for the Wallabies coaching structure post the Lions tour.”
Rugby Australia suffer setback as potential Joe Schmidt successors make their positions very clear
Other options and RA’s ‘creative’ negotiations
According to reports, the governing body have already made contingency plans should Schmidt depart, with Reds boss Les Kiss in the running to take over.
The Waratahs’ Dan McKellar has also been linked, while legendary fly-half and current Brumbies boss Stephen Larkham is another potential option.
But the preference for RA would be to keep hold of the current Wallabies head honcho, even if it meant granting concessions to Schmidt.
Waugh was asked what that specifically entailed, but the chief executive remained coy on the matter, saying: “I think everyone’s really enjoyed him being in the environment and leading the group, so it’s about how do we work with Joe for what works for him and the Wallaby environment post the Lions.”
Schmidt had a huge rebuilding job on his hands after Jones made unwanted history during his ill-fated 10-month stint back in charge of the Wallabies.
The New Zealander gave debuts to a number of players in 2024, but there are signs that Schmidt is beginning to settle on a 23.
“Joe has built a really strong squad. I think that what you will see is players that play with each other frequently normally perform better, and we’ve seen those combinations build out in 2024 and hopefully more in 2025,” Waugh added.