Rugby Australia back 'world's best coach' Schmidt after tour flop

SYDNEY - Rugby Australia threw its support behind embattled Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt on Tuesday, saying it had "absolute confidence" in the New Zealander despite leading the team to a record 10 defeats in a calendar year.

Schmidt had been due to step aside after this year's Rugby Championship, but agreed to extend his tenure until mid-2026 when Les Kiss will take over.

Kiss is contracted to the Queensland Reds until then.

But calls have been mounting for the 60-year-old Schmidt to go early after their disastrous European tour was capped by a 48-33 loss to France in Paris last weekend.

It was the Wallabies' first winless European tour since 1958.

Schmidt said in France he would be happy to stand down if Rugby Australia had a better option, but the governing body's chief executive Phil Waugh backed him to keep going.

"We’ve got absolute confidence in Joe, being one of the world's best - if not the best - coach in the world, and the progress that he's made with the group can't be underestimated," Waugh told The Australian newspaper.

"Even though we're all disappointed with the outcome in terms of wins and losses, what we've seen and the growth we've seen from the group over the last 18 months under Joe's leadership has been quite transformational.

"We’ve got absolute confidence in the direction of travel that Joe's taking the team forward with and the transition plan that we have with Les post the Nations Championship in 2026.

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Currently, Schmidt is scheduled to coach the Wallabies in the first three Nations Championship games next July against Italy, Ireland and France.

He will then hand over the reins, with Waugh confident it would leave enough time for Kiss to stamp his mark on the team leading into the 2027 World Cup on home soil.

"The benefit of having Joe stay on for longer, and his long history with Les, is that we're very keen not for there to be a fresh start but for there to be continued progress and that level of continuity," he told the newspaper.

"We believe in that continuity and a lot of the management team staying on because it's not just about the head coach but it's also around the continuity of management."