Sean Maloney: 'Chilli powder' awaits Lions during brutal Aussie tour as Wallabies coach tackles all the big questions

When 'Producer Trav' pinged the Between Two Posts WhatsApp group with news that Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt was rolling in for Monday's show, I did a double take.

Schmidt has been flat chat the last few weeks as both his future and that of incoming coach Les Kiss was settled.

Friday night at the SFS to watch the Reds edge out NSW, then up the M1 to Newcastle on Saturday to watch our Wallaroos take on the Black Ferns.

Watch all the action from the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia on Stan Sport, the only place to watch every match live and on demand

Given our group chat is usually dedicated to golf, bad tipping and Morgs winding up Burkey, I thought this too must've been a stitch up.

I was wrong and there was the boss in the Nine studios in North Sydney.

I've been in the rugby broadcast game since 2008 which makes Schmidt the sixth Wallabies coach I've interviewed.

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Each of the previous bosses were entirely giving of their time, thoughts and patience.

Each had their own nuances, everyone to a man were kind, even in the early days when I was trying to hone the most effective line of questioning.

This was my first sit down with Joe in nearly a year, our opening introduction came at a St Augustine's rugby lunch ahead of the 2024 Wales series.

NEW PODCAST! Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt previews the British and Irish Lions series on Between Two Posts and gives some insight into his selection criteria

That afternoon it was a 20 minute pin-drop chat which finished with huge applause.

The combination of self-deprecation, perspective and rugby knowledge immediately won over the crowd who were still hurting from the 2023 Rugby World Cup exit.

So, here he was again alongside Wallabies media man Marty Cambridge, ready to get stuck in.

He'd been briefed on what might come his way, but had added he was happy to answer anything.

A couple of warm handshakes later, the studio lights were on and we were into it.

Here's some of the best from our chat from Between Two Posts.

Sean: Coach, great to have you here with us, firstly, can we start with the inured players from the weekend, Noah (Lolesio) and Joseph-Aukuso (Suaalii), how have they come through those bang ups?

Joe: Really well, thankfully, not ideal to get them in the first place but they should even be back playing in a couple of weeks. That's a relief for them and obviously the Wallabies looking further ahead.

Burkey: Do you sit there and go 'oooh, my jigsaw just got a little harder' if that went a bad way?

Joe: I sit there and think, Noah's mum and dad are going to take a fright and Joe's family… he's got a lot of sisters who care and worry about him, so it's broader than the jigsaw that's going ahead.

Morgs: What are you looking for from Super Rugby players that makes you think 'that's the sort of guy I want in my Wallaby squad.'

Joe: It's often the little things Morgs, looking after the ball well from start to finish, it's about being smart and early around how they're involved in the cleanout or tackle. A lot of it is around speed of thought or movement as much as it is around skill set. You know, even how you're teaming up – sometimes a player, not even intentionally, can help give a team mate a leg up with selection just because that combination appears to be building.

Morgs: Are you THE selector, is it the assistant coaches, is there an independent selector these days?

Joe: There's not an independent one but I'm far from the selector. I'm still trying to solve the mystery of front row play. (Starts laughing as Burkey raises his hand too). I'm not going to come over the top of someone like Mike Cron who is a guru in that area. Even Laurie (Fisher) has a lot of experience around forward coaching with Geoff Parling. People might perceive I have the casting vote... but sometimes it's a disagree and commit from me as well. I think it's one of the really good things about our coaching group.

Sean: One of the things that has recaptured Aussie rugby fans was the way in which you played on the spring tour. The fans' view was you were playing loose, you were playing fast, it was beautiful to watch. Do you just continue with that same thinking for the Lions? Or does it change in line with your opposition.

Joe: It's less about the opposition and more about us and how we play and how we can best play to our strengths. It's getting that balance right rather than the opposition. We still believe the best way for us to have confidence and momentum is on the back of good Super Rugby performances, so that's the foundation.

Burkey: What about the Lions series starting in the west, coming to the east. Will you have a little word to the coaches of the provinces, just to say 'give them a little bit of pepper' before the Test series.

Morgs: (Everybody laughing) Is Duncan McRae going to play in one of them?

Joe: I don't think they need me to talk to them about that. I think they'll be applying a full bit of chilli powder themselves and trying to make sure the confrontation is pretty hot.

Morgs: What jumped out at you about the Lions squad?

Joe: Combinations. Yep, 15 Irishmen, 12 Leinstermen. You've got 12 English and I think a lot of those combinations will mix and match really well. I think there are some dangerous combinations in there which will be quite formidable. It could be an all-Irish front row, it could be an all-English front row that comes on to replace them.

Sean: We're all 100 per cent behind you, so what's your pitch to Aussie rugby fans ahead of this series? You're very good at doing this, I've heard you do it before.

Joe: We just love the support we've built, even at the Wallaroos game on Saturday we had people coming up saying they were 100 per cent behind us and it does give confidence to players. At the same time, you're going to get a group of players who know they have to earn every moment from the crowd. You don't earn it in those moments, you earn it with the work you put in at training and performance. So I'd say bring your confidence, bring your voice and we'll bring our energy and our effort to try and make sure that a) we keep you entertained and also that we can be as competitive and combative as we're going to need to be.

And with that to think on, we threw to the Reds' match winning try from the weekend, Joe and Marty disappeared into the darkness of the set and we rounded out the show.

There's a real warmth to Joe that shines through.

I'm certain there's a hard, meticulous edge as well, but you can only talk on what you know.

I think Burkey probably summed it up best as we repositioned for BTP Extra.

"He's the sort of bloke you just wouldn't want to let down."