Paul O'Connell: Wallabies 'will get better and better' under Joe Schmidt

Paul O'Connell has backed Joe Schmidt to make Australian rugby a force once again, and says the ex-Ireland coach’s fingerprints are still all over this current Irish side.

Schmidt, who won three Six Nations titles as Ireland coach between 2013 and 2019, took charge of the Wallabies in 2024 following their disastrous Rugby World Cup campaign, having worked as an assistant coach at the All Blacks in 2023.

The New Zealander is only contracted with the Wallabies until the end of the British and Irish Lions series next summer, and has been coy on whether or not he will remain.

O’Connell served as captain of Ireland when Schmidt was in charge, and says elements of his former coach’s work remain in place, even five years after his departure.

"We would still do bits and pieces of what he had in place back in the day," the Ireland forwards coach said.

"Everyone is probably doing some kind of version of the same thing at the breakdown anyway, but we still have bits and pieces of the language that he used to use. That was a big part of how he coached.

"He was the first ever coach really that I experienced that was very consistent in how he spoke about various parts of the game and because of that you had real clarity in what was expected in different parts of the game, and the ruck was no different."

The former Ireland second row has also credited Schmidt with bringing a colder approach to the game, moving away from the old Irish attitude towards motivation.

"He was very clear in how he coached," he said.

"I think coaching had moved on a lot but we were still relying a little bit on emotion at times whereas he was technically very good.

"Everyone talks about his detail. He has very good teaching principles. He wouldn't just tell you what he