Joe Schmidt set to take on brief stint with Ulster

Schmidt only recently finished his two-and-a-half-year tenure as Wallabies head coach

ULSTER BOUND? Joe Schmidt is set to hook up with Ulster on a consultancy basis next month Pic: Ben Brady, Inpho

Recently departed Australian head coach Joe Schmidt is set to make a return to Irish rugby.

But in a surprise move, it won’t be with Leinster, where he spent three seasons before moving into the national role in mid-2013, but Ulster.

Examiner Sport understands that the former World Rugby Coach of the Year has accepted a consultancy role with the United Rugby Championship outfit and will join Richie Murphy’s side for around a month ahead of next season’s competition.

While Schmidt’s decision to join Ulster will surprise many, he knows the landscape well and previously had Murphy on his coaching team at Leinster and Ireland. Johnny Sexton’s brother Mark is also an assistant with Ulster, while former Test captain Rory Best is the side’s general manager.

The new gig also comes just weeks after Ireland spent a couple of weeks in Sydney, where Irish Rugby Football Union performance manager David Humphreys was also in town.

Schmidt only recently finished his two-and-a-half-year tenure with the Wallabies, where he signed off with a 57-10 win over Italy. But the demolition of Italy was far from the norm, with the victory snapping a six-match losing streak.

In fact, the 60-year-old finished with just 12 wins from 31 Tests after replacing Eddie Jones following the 2023 World Cup and Schmidt described some of the results of the past 10 months as “soul-destroying”.

His 38.71% win rate only just shaved Dave Rennie’s (38.2%) as the lowest in Wallabies history since the game turned professional.

Ahead of Ireland’s late 33-31 win over the Wallabies, Schmidt was asked about his future and whether he would consider returning to Leinster, especially in light of Leo Cullen’s decision to standdown following the 2026-27 season.

"I don't really have any ambition to keep coaching as a head coach or anything else," said the New Zealander. "I don't feel like I need to be a head coach, and I certainly don't need to be a national head coach."

Pressed on whether he would consider the Leinster job if approached, he replied: "Not at the moment.

"You guys know me well. I'm very short-term focused. I'm just trying to get through these last three games to help as best I can and help the group grow a little bit further. I feel like they are great. I feel like I can take a few steps back, and they can really lead themselves now.

"I think that's a great transition for [new Wallabies coach] Les [Kiss] in that they can grab the reins.

“I fly to Ireland on August 10 to go up and see my new grandson. I'm certainly going up there, but not to be coaching really. I'll be looking forward to that heatwave!"

While Schmidt has officially finished up as Wallabies coach, his association with Rugby Australia is not yet over after agreeing last month to join Australia A’s coaching team alongside Stephen Larkham for their two-match tour of the USA. Australia A will take on the USA Eagles.

It’s unclear if Schmidt will continue working with Rugby Australia in any capacity following the October tour.