Joe Schmidt recharging in old Dublin haunt ahead of closing stretch with Wallabies

COMFORTS: Australia head coach Joe Schmidt. Pic: Tom Maher/Inpho

Joe Schmidt was good for Ireland for the best part of a decade, and being in Ireland right now is clearly good for Joe Schmidt and his Australian team after a damaging defeat to Italy in Udine that betrayed a team running out of gas at its season’s end.

That loss has again called into question the rescue mission undertaken by the former Leinster and Ireland coach with the Wallabies, and it brought to mind his start with the Irish province in 2010 when they lost an early match in charge away to Treviso.

“The experienced Irish boys had just come back in and apparently I had lost the dressing-room, and the first question I was asked at the next press conference was, 'Joe, is this the beginning of the end of Leinster Rugby?' I thought that was a little melodramatic.” 

Schmidt referenced the book ‘Turn the Ship Around’ by David Marquet and the lessons therein on making leaders of followers. That’s still his job, building for down the road, as he prepares to hand the reins over to Les Kiss after two years in charge.

Dublin is the ideal place for a relaunch.

James O’Connor, fresh himself after a break in Morocco last week, replaces a less-than-fully-fit Carter Gordon at No.10, Len Ikitau comes in to the midfield. Also back is Max Jorgensen at full-back and Filipo Daugunu on the wing.

Experienced prop Allan Alaalatoa returns up front, while Tom Hooper’s switch to lock allows the dangerous Rob Valetini to come back in at blindside flanker. It’s a tasty lineup for a side that has lost five of its last six Tests.

The Wallabies are, in his own words, showing some “wear and tear” having already hosted the British and Irish Lions tour and played a full Rugby Championship. And a few big players are missing, Will Skelton and Taniela Tupou among them.

This hardest of taskmasters recognises all that. The squad was given the Monday off on arrival. Portmarnock was among the golf courses that provided a change of scenery, the weather played ball, and he has had the chance to meet up with some old friends.

It was former Ireland team manager Mick Kearney on Wednesday – over one of Keith Earls’ coffees - and Rory Best is in the diary for Friday. 

A waterlogged pitch at Wanderers saw training transferred to Blackrock after a phone call made at 10.47pm the night before.

“As a Terenure man, that was a big favour,” he laughed. His old club’s top-of-the-table AIL Division 1A meeting with St Mary’s this Saturday got a mention, although the three o’clock start is just a tad too close to events in Ballsbridge to make a quick look-see doable.

All this looks like catnip for him. Schmidt touched on the comfort of familiarity and Dublin has that in spades for him. He got out of a taxi in town earlier in the week and the first three randomers to pass him by all gave up a ‘Hello Joe’ in greeting.

He has a brother living in Blackrock, a son is based in Churchtown after a few years in Melbourne and he caught up with family on Tuesday evening for a bit of dinner. Small things but a huge help given the magnitude of the job at hand.

“To go back to the question: ‘How do you cope with pressure?’ Well, family is always a great distraction and opportunity to just be able to step outside the bubble you're in which can eat away at you a little bit, and breathe for a few hours.” So, back to it now.

It’s a delicate gig, this, laying foundations for the next man while trying to appease the notoriously demanding Aussie sports fan now, and Schmidt referenced the demands of coaching when talking about the “sardine can of pressure” that is the team bus on match day.

If only winning now was everything. 

He pointed to England’s ability to bring six Lions off their bench when they were in Twickenham two weekends ago and with the Aussies just three points down an hour into the game. Their bench? Apples and pears. A rebuild can’t wait.

"How do you learn and how do you get better? The only way to do it is in the arena. And at some stage, you've got to trust everyone in your squad. If you've selected them, then they have to be ready for whatever is demanded of them once they put on a Test jersey.

"So it's a balance that I don't think anyone gets right all the time. Even some of those countries with really, really good depth who can replace player for player without any observable kind of dilution of what they can deliver."