There will always be debate as to Joe Schmidt’s legacy in Irish rugby, though the verdict will mostly be positive if one takes into account his three years as head coach at Leinster, as well as his six years in charge with Ireland.Two Heineken Cups, a Challenge Cup, and a Pro12 title were followed by back-to-back Six Nations wins and a Grand Slam, along with historic wins over the All Blacks and away to South Africa, in addition a series win in Australia in 2018. Against that, there were two anticlimactic World Cup campaigns which ended in emphatic losses to Argentina and New Zealand.Now the debate has already started regarding Schmidt’s legacy in Australian rugby after his stint as head coach of the Wallabies comes to an end after the first series of games in the Nations Championship, in which his side will face Ireland, France and Italy.He will then hand over the reins to his former assistant with Ireland, Les Kiss. Passing the baton 16 months out from Australia hosting a World Cup does seem like odd timing, but Kiss was obliged to see out his time as Queensland Reds head coach, and on the premise that they might reach the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs, so Schmidt was persuaded to stay on. But the Reds did not reach the playoffs, so Kiss is now still in the background, which adds to the oddity of the timing.Schmidt will likely retain some form of advisory role, although, at a press conference on Thursday, he again sounded like a reluctant head coach who can’t wait to step away from the pressures of international rugby.Then Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt during an open training session in Galway in 2018. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho Save for a brief interlude working for World Rugby, the 60-year-old New Zealander has been in the coaching frontline since starting his six-year stint with Ireland in 2013. He went on to serve as an assistant coach when the All Blacks reached the 2023 World Cup final before being persuaded to take over the Wallabies after their first ever World Cup pool-stage exit.“I don’t really have any ambition to keep coaching as a head coach or anything else,” said Schmidt.“So, I’m really happy. When I get back (to New Zealand), I think I’m going to go and help King Country in the Heartland competition for a training camp, go and have a look at how they’re going. Stay nice and close to home and help out again, just with the pathway. I’m really comfortable there.”In assessing Schmidt’s legacy, it’s worth remembering the Wallabies’ were at their lowest ebb when he took over in early 2024, with a series against the British & Irish Lions looming the following year.“It was obviously a very disappointing and disruptive period for Australian rugby, coming out of the Rugby World Cup and, obviously, the results of the tournament,” said Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh.“Certainly, ensuring we had the right leader with the right experience to make the right connection with the group was really important.”So, when they appointed Peter Horne as high performance director in December 2023, with finding a new head coach being top of his in-tray, hiring someone with Schmidt’s experience at Test level seemed a shrewd appointment.The Wallabies lost the series to the Lions 2-1, but they came within a whisker of winning the second Test in Melbourne, which would have make the third Test in Sydney a decider. Instead, the hosts salvaged a victory in that dead rubber.Ireland head coach Andy Farrell with Joe Schmidt ahead of a Test between Ireland and Australia at the Aviva Stadium in November 2024. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho The Wallabies made the series competitive and carried that form into the Rugby Championship, beating South Africa 38-22 at Ellis Park for the first time in 62 years. They deserved more than the 30-22 defeat they took against the Springboks a week later, but recovered see off Argentina.However, Schmidt’s side ran out of steam thereafter, winning just one of their remaining eight Tests that year, a 19-15 victory away to Japan. The Wallabies lost all four Tests − against England, Ireland, Italy and France − on their end-of-year tour to Europe.“I’ve described last year as a good year, but a bad month,” said Horne, the four defeats in Europe all having come in November. But 2025 left Schmidt with a win-loss record of 11-17 from his 28 Tests at the helm.He has given Test debuts to 24 players during his tenure, one of whom, Jeremy Williams, has become a mainstay. Players such as Harry Wilson, Len Ikitau and Tom Wright have been revitalised under his watch, and the same would probably have been true of Carter Gordon but for injury.The side set to face Ireland on Saturday (kick-off 11.10am Irish time) still looks relatively callow, but if they could repeat the run of three wins they managed at the start of Schmidt’s reign over the coming weeks, that would colour perceptions.But how the Wallabies perform as World Cup hosts next year will likely go some way towards ultimately determining Schmidt’s legacy.