Joe Schmidt: Wallabies have done enough to show Lions series will be a contest

Andy Farrell will lead the tourists Down Under next summer.

FRIENDS REUNITED: Ireland's Bundee Aki and Australia's Head Coach Joe Schmidt after the game. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Joe Schmidt doesn’t feel his Australian side is ready to live with the British and Irish Lions just yet.

But this Wallaby performance in pushing Ireland to the pin of their collar on Saturday afternoon, is part of the reason why the Kiwi is so confident that they will be ready for the men in red come the summer of 2025.

“Maybe not yet,” he said when asked if they were at a Lions level now, “but I think and I hope our supporters and supporters of the Lions can see enough in what we've delivered in these last four weeks to think that they're going to be entertained and that it's going to be a contest.

“So, that's what I'd love to see and maybe not yet. We've still got some work to do for sure and I felt that there were times tonight where we've still got some guys who've only played a couple of Tests and they're still learning.

“They're not going to get a lot of learning as far as Test matches are concerned next year, but the Super Rugby window will be great for them to build again. I've got to say the Super Rugby coaches, I talk to them often and we're going to try to keep building that momentum.

“By the time the Lions arrive, I'm hoping next July that you'll see a Wallaby team worthy of taking them on head on."

That’s great news. For the Wallabies, for Australian rugby, for the Lions, and for rugby in general. Schmidt remarked that they had shown a level of “grit” that is needed to compete with such a strong Ireland side and the tourists to come.

“We'd love to have got into the mix and got the W ourselves, but at the same time, from where we started at the end of last November when the boys came back after their break post the World Cup, to where we are now, there's a bit more confidence in what they're delivering.” If Australia is Schmidt’s focus now then he will always be linked indelibly with an Ireland team that he coached to such success through most of his six years in charge and he knows more about the men in green than your average ‘visitor’.

Sam Prendergast may be a new name for many watching on foreign shores but Schmidt was well aware of Ireland’s young starting ten here two years ago when his former colleague and past Ireland U20 coach Richie Murphy gave him the lowdown on the Leinster man.

“He’s got a great short kicking game but his long kicking game was exceptional tonight. A couple of times they got penalties and he put us deep in our own 22 and when that’s happening its difficult because there’s not a lot of oxygen there.

“I have seen him kick goals exceptional well and he obviously missed that first one which would have been something he would knock over easily. When that happens a young man he can be put off his game very easily but I didn’t notice it unfortunately.

“He still looked still on his game. Playing in the Ireland system you always have options inside and out and that takes a bit of the pressure off. I felt we did isolate him a few times tonight and put some pressure on him and he did look a little bit flustered which is unusual for him.

“He’s usually very calm. He’s got great potential. I gotta say I would be a fan of Jack Crowley as well, he is a super player. And a very brave one, he is a very good defender with a good kicking game.” For Schmidt the whole week has been a whirlwind.

He has tried to concentrate on the job in hand throughout all the well-wishes and the get-togethers and he will retreat to his old house in Churchtown for a week now to spend time with some family and friends now that the Wallabies are done for the year.

“It’s been a bit embarrassing. The boys give me a hard time. We got on a plane and I had a selfie with these ladies. One of them turned around when we were all boarded and said there was a spare seat next to her and the boys thought that was hilarious so I have copped it. I felt the same warmth that I felt for ten years here.

“My family were incredibly well looked after here. My daughter is here, I think my son will end up shifting back here with his Irish wife and so we’ll continue to be very much a split family with a very heavy Irish and Kiwi influence and currently an Aussie intention to keep improving.”