Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt believes his experience with the All Blacks works both ways as he urges the Super Rugby clubs to show consistency in the final weeks of the season.
After spending the past two years as an assistant with the New Zealand national side, Schmidt joined the Wallabies in March with the task to bring the Bledisloe back to Australia.
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The New Zealand born Schmidt has strong bonds with the majority of their coaching group under Scott Robertson, believing it can be a blessing and a curse,
“It’s a conundrum you face whenever you shift (jobs) and with the amount of transitions that occur in International or club Rugby, you often face your friends somewhere along the line," he told reporters.
“I don’t think I have a massive amount of IP but I’ve got a lot of experience after 20+ years of professional coaching and whatever I know about the All Blacks, the All Blacks know lots about me as well.
"...My real motivation for trying to help was when Peter Horne rang me, I genuinely believe we need to be as strong as we can in this corner of the world and that’s a corner we share with the All Blacks and New Zealand, not a corner where we can live in isolation.
“One of the ways to help each other is to try to be as competitive as we can be against each other to drive the performance of both teams."
Schmidt has been pleased with the competitiveness of the Australian sides in Super Rugby Pacific, already recording more wins against their Kiwi counterparts than previous seasons.
However, he understands the importance of backing it up week-to-week with the Wallabies needing to win both games in Sydney and Wellington to reclaim the elusive trophy.
"It’s probably fluctuated like the Bledisloes the past two years as well in that we’re being competitive one week and that hasn’t necessarily materialised to being competitive the next week. I think driving that consistency of performance is massively important
“You saw what happened to the Brumbies in Auckland and what they did on the weekend and that’s a fantastic example of the fluctuation and performance that occurs and trying to build the consistency is going to be a challenge.
“I think the Blues and Reds game on the weekend was a fantastic game for a neutral supporter because the excitement there and it was fantastic the way the game ebbed and flowed.
“I think it’s just being able to nail those big moments and finish those games as well, which has been a challenge for the Wallabies in recent years. I don’t necessarily have the answer but I’ve had experiences with teams where they haven’t quite nailed those moments and it’s about trying to build your mindset where you can stay process-driven through those periods.”
With discussions continuing around the future of the Rebels and potential players heading overseas, Schmidt was energised by the next batch of talent that was already thriving in Super Rugby.
The national coach was in the stands in Brisbane to watch 20-year-old Reds speedster Tim Ryan score a hat-trick of tries in his Super Rugby Pacific starting debut last round.
"We definitely want people to stay here and be part of the Wallabies set-up," Schmidt said.
"But I love it when someone is unavailable and suddenly we uncover a kid.
"(Ryan) didn't just score those tries, he finished them superbly and particularly the third one, his footwork.
"If we do lose people, we're disappointed and we don't want that to happen but if we do, my mindset is, 'Right, well let's get this guy and let's build a combination and go forward'."
