Good, bad, and ugly: How Schmidt will be remembered

After historic consecutive defeats to Italy on either side of the 2023 World Cup, order was restored over the weekend as the Wallabies did a demolition job on the Azzurri.

The Wallabies hammered a shambolic Italian side 57-10 in Perth to send Joe Schmidt out a winner in the New Zealander’s last match in charge of Australia.

The massive victory snapped a six-match losing streak as the Wallabies chalked up just their second win in their past 11 Tests.

It also gave fans and indeed the Wallabies something to smile about after a series of second-half shockers, including against Ireland and France in the inaugural Nations Championship, had left Schmidt and the national cohort scratching their heads.

Schmidt was widely praised by the playing cohort over the past month for his efforts in galvanising the playing group following the disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign.

“What he’s left for us, the fundamentals of the game, it’s something that will never, ever leave us as players,” said marquee Wallaby Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii following their nine-try-to-two win in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,268 fans at HBF Park.

While the win gave Schmidt and long-time Australian mentor Laurie Fisher the perfect send-off, whether his two-and-a-half-year tenure sees the Wallabies turn the corner and return to the top four on World Rugby’s rankings in the years to come remains to be seen.

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After all, a win over the world No.10 Italians isn’t exactly something to crow about, given the European side had just been hammered by the world No.11 Japan 27-10 in Tokyo.

So with Schmidt out and Les Kiss taking over the reins, here’s a look at the good, bad, and ugly under the New Zealander.

The good

It’s impossible to look past the Wallabies’ two-match purple patch, where the men in gold beat the Lions 22-12 in Sydney in the third Test before going to Johannesburg and knocking over the world champions.

Trailing 22-0 after 20 minutes, the Wallabies scored six unanswered tries, including five in the second half, to stun Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks 38-22. The win was their first at Ellis Park in 62 years.

The victory was the third giant scalp for the Wallabies in nine months, having also shocked England at Twickenham to end a nine-year drought in London.

Schmidt also helped clarify the Wallabies’ attacking shape, placing a huge emphasis on ball security at the attacking breakdown.

The Kiwi’s demeanour resonated with the Australian public, especially during his first 18 months in charge.

That was somewhat reflected in the strong crowds for internationals over the past 12 months, with five sold-out stadiums on the bounce.

Several players also came through under Schmidt, including second-rower Jeremy Williams who debuted against Wales in July 2024 and has been a mainstay since.

Suaalii was also thrown in the deep end at the first opportunity available, with Schmidt selecting the code-hopper at outside centre to face England. It worked a treat.

Others like Tom Wright and Len Ikitau also returned immediately under Schmidt after failing to make the squad for the World Cup under Eddie Jones. Ikitau was injured, but others under fitness clouds were taken to France regardless.

The bad

Schmidt won his opening three matches in charge of the Wallabies (Wales and Georgia), but the wins started to fall away from that point on.

In the end he finished with just 12 victories from 31 Tests.

The struggles came on hard midway through last year’s long 15-Test campaign, with the Wallabies managing to win just two of their past 11 Tests.

The tough finish to 2025, as well as the defeats to France and Ireland this year, meant Schmidt finished with a 38.71 win percentage – a fraction higher than his compatriot Dave Rennie’s 38.2 percentage.

Rennie’s overall record as Wallabies coach is the worst since the game turned professional in the mid-1990s.

Schmidt’s 61.29 per cent losing record, however, is the worst in the past 30 years because Rennie’s Wallabies recorded (lost 52.94% of matches) included three draws during his three-year tenure.

Asked about his win-loss record on Monday, Schmidt didn’t shy away from the ugly number.

“I haven’t loved the results sometimes. In fact, I’ve been depressed about the results in some of those games,” Schmidt told a small group of journalists hand-picked by Rugby Australia.

He added: “It was a total clean-out after the World Cup. There were two other members of staff, so we had no coaches. We had no real support staff and a lot of the players, even post World Cup, either weren’t available or there had been some guys who’d been left out and were teetering on the edge of heading overseas.

“I knew no one. So it was about convincing them that we can still get together and be competitive.”

While Schmidt and Rugby Australia also celebrated the near miss against the Lions, in reality they should have put away the famed touring side.

Will Skelton - the giant lock, who ranks as one of the best forwards in the world - changed the series when he started against the Lions in Melbourne. The Wallabies even beat the Lions when he got through 80 minutes in Sydney a week later.

But Skelton was also good to go against the Lions for the series opener, but was perplexingly left out. It proved to be a shocking oversight, especially given Skelton was fit. In his absence, the Wallabies were beaten up.

The ugly

One of the biggest issues under Schmidt was his selection and the topsy-turvy situation in the halves, particularly at fly-half.

After being blessed to work with Johnny Sexton during his long run with Ireland, as well as Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga and Damian McKenzie at the All Blacks, Schmidt struggled to find his preferred playmaker.

In total, Schmidt started seven different playmakers (Noah Lolesio, Ben Donaldson, Tom Lynagh, James O’Connor, Tane Edmed, Carter Gordon and Declan Meredith) in the No.10 jersey during his 31 Tests.

Another two – Hamish Stewart and Jock Campbell – came off the bench as cover in the role.

While injuries struck at curious and frustrating times (Lolesio was injured ahead of the Lions series), Schmidt also persisted with Edmed, naming him in 11 straight matchday squads to end 2025.

Interestingly, the Brumbies playmaker wasn’t included in Schmidt’s Wallabies squad for the July Tests this year.

Schmidt then turned to Campbell, who had never started a professional match in the No.10 jersey and was seen purely as a fullback by the Reds, to provide cover against France for Meredith, who was thrust into the hot seat recently after minor soft tissue injuries to Donaldson and Gordon.

It came with O’Connor, another who excelled in 2026, sat in the stands while Lolesio was in Sydney following his season in Japan.

It also came off the back of a bizarre Spring Tour, where Schmidt took just two playmakers despite Gordon only returning to rugby in the days before the tour.

The playmaker then endured an injury-riddled return to the national team, with O’Connor brought in and out of the side.

Schmidt also reluctantly brought through several experienced and well-credentialed players, including Ryan Lonergan.

The Brumbies No.9 was barely used on last year’s Spring Tour and really only came into the mix this year after Jake Gordon’s late-season injury.

Others like Josh Canham were also sparingly used, before taking his opportunity with both hands during the recent Nations Championship Tests.

But the decision to only reward their form recently could come back to bite the Wallabies next year, with experience vital at World Cups.

The decision not to confirm his permanent captain over his tenure also raised eyebrows. It led to a running debate whether Harry Wilson, who has led the side since mid-2024, would continue in the leadership role.

The coaching transition, which was sold as delivering “continuity” and “consistency” in fact, turned out to be messy.

Indeed, the sight of Kiss in the stands sitting by himself was jarring as the Wallabies were hammered by France in mid-July.

His drawn out contract negotiations in 2025 also meant the Australian sporting landscape barely heard from Schmidt in the lead up to the Lions series, with the coach keen to fly under the radar while Rugby Australia found his successor.

For a code in desperate need of as much coverage as possible, his silence beyond a couple of short appearances on Stan Sport was far from ideal.

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