Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is expected to decide his coaching future with Australia this week. Photo: Rugby Australia
Rugby Australia is expected to have a decision on Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt’s future by the end of this week.
The Kiwi is contracted only to the British and Irish Lions tour next year but there is a push to re-sign him to the 2027 men’s World Cup in Australia.
Schmidt is due back in Sydney this week after a holiday in Ireland with RA chief executive Phil Waugh keen to lock him down long term.
“We’ve been working through with Joe, he’s still overseas and coming back this week, so we expect to sit down with Joe and work through the plan post-Lions,” Waugh told rugby.com.au.
“He’s done a lot of heavy lifting and there’s been progress in the Wallabies environment. He’s surrounded himself with really good people.”
He said RA was working through a “contingency plan” should Schmidt not commit until the World Cup.
“I think Joe was quite overt around the fact that he saw his responsibility in elevating Australia and providing a platform for an Australian to take over when he does finish up.
“I think that we’re well positioned.”
RA also released a new strategic plan to return the Wallabies to its status as the top-ranked rugby nation.
Goals include reaching the final four of the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups (both in 2027) with a win rate of 70 per cent and winning the Bledisloe Cup every two years.
QLD REDS SIGNING
Meanwhile, Queensland have signed Australian-eligible All Black prop Aidan Ross to their squad for the post-2025 Super Rugby season.
The 88-cap Waikato-based Chiefs loosehead prop will link up with the Reds after next year’s Super Rugby Pacific season.
Born in Gosford, NSW, before he returned to NZ, at age 8, with his Kiwi parents, the 29-year-old Ross made his All Blacks debut against Ireland in 2022.
However, the appeal of a move for his young family and Ross’ Australian eligibility could see the 118kg prop trade his black jersey for a gold one next year.
“The attraction with Australia is that I can go there and not be a foreign player. It’s appealing to also be close to family because my partner and I now have our own family with young (17-month-old) Albie,” he told Reds Media.
The Reds already have a dual international prop in Alex Hodgman who became the fourth player to represent Australia and New Zealand when he ran out for the Wallabies against Georgia in Sydney this year.
