Joe Schmidt's legacy on the line as Ireland roll into town 

Head coach Joe Schmidt and James Slipper during the Australia Rugby captain's run. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

There’s still another couple of Tests left to run before Joe Schmidt walks away as Wallabies coach, but the New Zealander’s legacy goes on the line against Ireland in Sydney on Saturday.

Forget about last year’s end-of-season shocker, where the Wallabies lost seven of their last eight Tests, should the men in gold snap their five-Test losing run against Ireland and topple Andy Farrell’s men, Australians young and old will rue the fact that Schmidt won’t lead the nation through to the World Cup next year.

After a decade in the doldrums, Australians are crying out for the Wallabies to topple a top-tier nation at home.

Defeats overseas in the middle of the night can be forgotten, but it’s at home in prime time that the real pulse of the nation is felt.

While the series was already over last year when the Lions arrived in Sydney, the victory over the famous touring side in the teeming rain at the Olympic Stadium led to spots of gold popping up everywhere in the Harbour City over the next few weeks.

Rugby returned to the papers and 6pm news bulletins, and the code was discussed in pubs and cafes.

However, that pulse has once again softened over the past nine months as the defeats have added up and Super Rugby, the once-revered club competition, returned.

But up against the world No.3, with more than 40,000 to fill Allianz Stadium, the Wallabies can earn back some respect by taking down Farrell’s men and snapping their losing run to Ireland, which dates back to 2018.

Indeed, it was eight years ago that the Wallabies’ fall down the World Rugby rankings was confirmed.

After defeats to England and Scotland in consecutive years at Allianz Stadium, the 20-16 defeat to Ireland continued the Wallabies’ horror show in Sydney.

It was Schmidt in the coach’s box that evening as he got one over Michael Cheika on a controversial evening, where Israel Folau was shown a yellow card for contact in the air despite dominating the skies for years.

Now, Australia needs Schmidt to out-Schmidt Ireland.

All week Farrell’s men have been talking about how the lessons learned during Schmidt’s long stint in Ireland still stand up.

From James Ryan to Jack Conan, Paul O’Connell and Farrell himself, Ireland’s brains trust has said that Schmidt’s legacy is still present in the current set up.

Even Angus Bell, who recently returned from a stint at Ulster, said the shape the URC club plays with is straight out of the Schmidt book.

But Schmidt now must show that even an old dog can learn new tricks by taking down Ireland.

If he doesn’t, he’ll be the latest in a growing list of Wallabies coaches that hasn’t been able to turn the nation’s fortunes around.

Tests, of course, will follow against France in Brisbane and Italy in Perth, but the pressure will only rise if they don’t get over Farrell’s Irish.

After all, a date with world No.4 Les Bleus awaits, with Fabien Galthie’s reinforcements out of Toulouse, including Peato Mauvaka, Manny Meafou, Romain Ntamack, to return after not being considered for their July opener against the All Blacks.

It’s why Saturday’s Test is more important than first meets the eye, especially 15 months out from the World Cup.