Introducing Saturday’s Wallabies versus Wales Test, Stan Sport front man Nick McArdle heralded the match as a “new era”. While it feels like an indecently short time since the last new era, McArdle was undeniably right; the transition from Eddie Jones to Joe Schmidt couldn’t be starker. What the failure of the 2023 World Cup campaign, and all of the nonsense that accompanied it has done, is to buy Schmidt time, as well as an investment of goodwill.
That’s not all down to Jones, Hamish McLennan and the desire to move on, but also the credibility Schmidt has built over his coaching career, and his personable, unfailingly polite manner. 2023 was all about bravado; throwing punches at rugby league, donning Akubras and brashly leaning into old-fashioned Aussie values, whatever they might be. It all fell in a crashing heap because there was little substance underneath it, too many question marks around the coaching group, and too many experienced players too swiftly cast aside.
Under Schmidt, at least for now, it feels like two objectives are enough: be nice guys again, and, win or lose, show fans that there is a credible pathway forward. That there is a Wallabies team worth rallying behind, and investing emotionally in, without fear of being embarrassed or let down, as fans were in France. In that context, the Wallabies’ performance against Wales represents a solid start.
It feels good to win again, especially turning a dismal 40-6 loss into a 25-16 win. Filipo Daugunu.