Rugby Australia has pulled off a major coup with highly respected New Zealander Joe Schmidt expected to be named as the next Wallabies coach, Wide World of Sports understands.

Schmidt, 58, led Ireland to unprecedented heights between 2013-19.

Under his coaching, Ireland won three Six Nations including a grand slam in 2018, an achievement which earned him the World Rugby coach of the year award.
Ireland also topped the world rankings for the first time and made history by beating the All Blacks in 2016 and 2018.

Known for his attention to detail and sharp tactical brain, Schmidt then returned home to New Zealand to work with the Blues before joining the All Blacks setup in 2022.

Schmidt stayed out of the limelight but it was no coincidence that Ian Foster’s side improved dramatically after he and Jason Ryan joined the New Zealand coaching staff on a fulltime basis and the All Blacks reached the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.
But with Scott Robertson replacing Foster at the All Blacks helm, Schmidt became the hottest coaching free agent in world rugby.

RA chief executive Phil Waugh stayed patient and got his man with the recruitment of Peter Horne and David Nucifora crucial pieces of the puzzle.

Horne was appointed director of high performance in December and Nucifora signed on in an advisory role.
Both men have strong relationships with former schoolteacher Schmidt – Horne from his time working for World Rugby and Nucifora from his successful tenure as Ireland’s high performance director.

Schmidt will inherit the Wallabies at a historically low ebb, ranked ninth in the world after the Eddie Jones train wreck.

He will be tasked with making the Wallabies competitive against a British and Irish Lions side coached by his former assistant Andy Farrell in 2025.
“This is a journey and this is the start of that journey and a really exciting path ahead for the game here in Australia,” Waugh said last month in regards to the coaching hunt.

“We need to be very disciplined and go through the right process to get the best possible people into the organisation.”

Schmidt will become the third New Zealander to coach the Wallabies after Robbie Deans and Dave Rennie with an official announcement expected this month.