Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt's 'awkward' Bledisloe Cup encounter with All Blacks
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Joe Schmidt admits his brain is going "around in circles" as he strives to make amends for the Wallabies "catastrophe" in Santa Fe.
The record 67-27 loss in Argentina will always gnaw away at the perfectionist former school teacher who has an enviable 59 win, 23 loss, one draw CV as an international head coach.
After recalling five key players to his 23 for Saturday's Bledisloe Cup opener, Schmidt revealed that illness had swept through the Wallabies camp ahead of the September 8 clash with the Pumas.
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Harry Wilson of Australia reacts as he leaves the field. Getty
He didn't want to use the "bug" as an excuse for the performance but said some players had been "a little bit knocked around by it."
The situation was also a factor for promoting a "fresh" Nic White into the starting halfback jersey ahead of Jake Gordon on Thursday.
Schmidt has plenty on his plate and the arrival of an angry All Blacks side has added to the edge.
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The New Zealander was an assistant coach to Ian Foster in 2022-23, culminating in an agonising 12-11 All Blacks loss to the Springboks in the Rugby World Cup final in Paris.
Schmidt, of course, has coached against the All Blacks before.
He masterminded Ireland's first ever wins against New Zealand and finished with a 2-3 record against them.
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But Saturday will be different after being in the inner sanctum.
"Yeah, it'll be a bit awkward, to be honest," Schmidt told reporters.
"I've had a lot to do with some of those players very recently. But you have a loyalty to the group of men you're working with at the current time and players understand that."
Assistant coach Joe Schmidt and forwards coach Jason Ryan of the All Blacks in 2022 in Christchurch. Getty
His intimate knowledge of Scott Robertson's squad is proving both a blessing and a curse.
"It means you can go around in circles in your own head," Schmidt said.
"Which I have no problem doing without coming up against an opponent like the All Blacks and the players that I know.
All Blacks coaches including Joe Schmidt celebrate with the Bledisloe Cup in 2022. Getty
"It surely means that you understand just the firepower that they do have and the horsepower up front as well. So you understand what you're coming up against."
Schmidt has kept in touch with a number of All Blacks players although that chat had dried up this week.
Beauden Barrett had given him tips on Sydney's best golf courses but he hasn't had time to swing a five iron in anger.
Fixing the Wallabies is a fulltime job.
"We were 20-3 up after 30 minutes (in Santa Fe)," Schmidt lamented.
"So the catastrophe that it was, wasn't for 80 minutes. So what can we take out of that game and keep building?
"We leaked nine tries and I think we gave the ball up too easily.
"We got disconnected defensively... we over chased things and then when we over chased things, we destabilised ourselves and it allowed them on the break to come back and hurt us...
"Hopefully we've built a little bit of confidence back, but you can't build confidence on porous foundations. I think we have to get a bit of a dose of reality first and accept that we'd overreached at times."
The Wallabies must win or draw in Sydney to keep their hopes alive.
"The Bledisloe is a massive trophy and it's something that I know the All Blacks treasure and the Wallabies would like to treasure. They haven't seen it for quite some time," Schmidt said.
"And so it would be great if they could at least get a hand on it and keep it live to Wellington (on September 28)."
WALLABIES (15-1): Tom Wright, Andrew Kellaway, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Marika Koroibete, Noah Lolesio, Nic White, Harry Wilson (c), Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams, Nick Frost, Taniela Tupou, Matt Faessler, Angus Bell
Reserves: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Langi Gleeson, Tate McDermott, Tom Lynagh, Dylan Pietsch
ALL BLACKS (15-1): Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima, Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Wallace Sititi, Tupou Vaa'i, Scott Barrett (c), Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot
Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Tamaiti Williams, Pasilio Tosi, Sam Darry, Luke Jacobson, TJ Perenara, Anton Lienert-Brown, Sevu Reece
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
