Joe Schmidt is the right coach at the right time for the rebuilding Wallabies as his no frills era kicked off with a much needed 25-16 win against Wales in Sydney.
That’s the opinion of former Wallabies Stephen Hoiles and Morgan Turinui ahead of Saturday’s Test rematch in Melbourne.
Tom Wright’s sizzling try aside, there wasn’t a huge amount of style about the performance but there was some starch and substance.
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Joe Schmidt at Allianz Stadium. Getty
Randwick coach Hoiles got some insight into the Schmidt methodology when he spoke to Wallabies halfback Nic White.
“He made a point of ‘well, there’s so much that’s going to come over the next 6-12 weeks with Joe Schmidt, but he hasn’t been able to bring much in’,” Hoiles said on Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts.
“So he’s really just focused on our clean out, our ground work, the things that are really important, he said. So if you go through training and you don’t place the ball correctly, you’ll get pulled up and we’ll go back and start again. A bit like what Eddie (Jones) was like back in the day. And apparently he wasn’t like that last year.
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Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt speaks to his players. Getty
“He (Jones) wasn’t pulling up guys if there was one short at the breakdown. So breakdown and ground work was probably the most important part to them.”
Turinui, a former Rebels assistant coach, said the meticulous and demanding Schmidt was well placed to wring every drop of ability from a relatively inexperienced squad.
Only three men in the matchday 23 that beat Wales had played more than 50 Tests – James Slipper (135), Allan Alaalatoa (68) and Taniela Tupou (51) – and there were a whopping seven debutants.
NEW PODCAST! The great Lote Tuqiri joins the crew to review a winning Wallabies start to the Joe Schmidt era against Wales
“So what we have, I think, is the right coach at the right time for this group,” Turinui said.
“You haven’t got (George) Gregan and (Stephen) Larkham who go ‘we’ll run this, mate.’ These players need to be coached.
“I think they have a real thirst to be coached as well. So when you’ve got Joe Schmidt there, you’ve got Laurie Fisher who’s detail oriented, you’ve got (Geoff) Parling there, you’ve got Eoin Toolan doing skills, Mike Cron with our scrum. They’re being coached and the age that they’re at, the level of experience that they have, this is a Wallabies team that needs hands on coaching.”
Hoiles, who coached Randwick to a drought breaking Shute Shield title last year, admired Australia’s simple but effective approach at Allianz Stadium.
Much bigger challenges lay ahead in the Rugby Championship but their breakdown and lineout in particular received a big first up tick.
“Their lineout work was excellent,” Hoiles said.
Matt Faessler of Australia at Stade de France. Getty
“Like (Matt) Faessler’s throwing is genuinely world class now and he’s only been a Test player for 12 months. They just continued to get quick ball and they’re not playing overly structured off their first couple of phases. But they do look like they’re playing a very quick ruck recycle, which gives your 10s and 12s a lot more time…
“I was really impressed with how they managed the variety of the game and you can’t win any game of footy without bending the line or denting the line or getting to the right part of the field with your forward carry.”
Hoiles said locks Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Jeremy Williams set the tone with some abrasive play in the first half.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is presented with a didgeridoo by First Nations advisor Dean Duncan. Getty
The backline, however, required a bit of work with Noah Lolesio back in the driver’s seat after his Rugby World Cup snubbing.
“It was a workmanlike performance,” Turinui said.
“The big positive was any time the Wallabies got in a little bit of trouble, they had that scrum to go to as well. It’s such a powerful thing… those are huge moments in Test matches and having (Taniela) Tupou there, I just want to see him get more capable of playing longer minutes. Being able to unleash Taniela early, set some scrum dominance, I thought that was a huge part of it.”