Rugby Australia sets deadline for Joe Schmidt’s contract situation to be resolved
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt and Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh.
Rugby Australia (RA) chief executive Phil Waugh has revealed that he wants to resolve the uncertainty over Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt’s contract situation by the start of the upcoming Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Speaking at the unveiling of the 2027 Rugby World Cup host cities in Sydney on Thursday, Waugh indicated that negotiations with Schmidt were on track.
Schmidt‘s current contract runs until the end of the Wallabies‘ series against the British & Irish Lions in Australia in July.
He took over the coaching reins last year following a disastrous 2023 Test campaign under Eddie Jones in which Australia won just two out of nine Tests and were knocked out of the Rugby World Cup without qualifying for the play-offs for the first time in the history of the global showpiece.
However, since Schmidt took charge of the Wallabies they have shown considerable improvement and despite finishing at the bottom of last year’s Rugby Championship table, the two-time World Cup winners ended the 2024 Test season with six wins out of 13 Tests played.
They finished 2024 with solid victories over England and Wales and although they lost the other two matches on their Grand Slam tour against Scotland and Ireland, Australia were competitive in both games.
Wallabies players and fans want Schmidt to stay on
Schmidt deserves plenty of credit for the turnaround in the Wallabies’ fortunes and players and supporters in Australia are keen for the New Zealander to extend his stay with the team through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
The 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season gets underway on February 14, which means RA’s bosses have just over two weeks to reach an agreement with Schmidt.
“Our ambition was to get to a position with Joe before the end of last year,” Waugh told AAP. “It’s obviously taken a little bit longer but we are working through those conversations constructively.
“We’re hopeful we’ll be able to share a position reasonably soon.
“Ideally we’d have a position before Super Rugby – and we’re really excited about what Super Rugby is going to deliver this year – and we don’t want to distract from the start of Super Rugby on February 14.”
Rugby Australia issue update on Joe Schmidt’s future after key deadline passes
There is plenty of positivity over Schmidt’s reign as Wallabies coach, especially after they finished their 2024 with those competitive performances on their end-of-year tour.
However, the 59-year-old has been reluctant to commit beyond the upcoming Lions tour due to some health issues with his adult son.
Waugh had said earlier that the only reason Schmidt’s future was not resolved was due to both the Wallabies coach and several key RA staff being on leave following the end-of-year tour.
Waugh added that there will be leeway for Schmidt to continue being involved with the Wallabies heading into the 2027 World Cup, even if it meant him being less involved in day-to-day coaching.
‘Happy to be creative’
“I have said from the start that I’m happy to be creative,” said Waugh.
“I think the most important aspect of Joe’s inclusion in the environment is his positive influence he has culturally.
“If we can have Joe influencing our environment positively then that’s a good outcome.”
Waugh also downplayed concerns that the uncertainty over Schmidt’s contract situation could impact the decisions of Wallabies players who want to to finalise their own futures at club level beyond the Lions tour.
“I think providing certainty for players is very important,” added Waugh.
“But as a player, the most important thing was representing your country and putting on a gold jersey and that was my focus as a player.
“I think a culture is starting to be bred through these players that is similar to that.
“It’s important for us to provide certainty and clarity to players and we’ll be doing that as soon as we can.”
