July 19, 2026 — 4:00pmJoseph-Aukuso Suaalii is well qualified to summarise the lasting impact of Joe Schmidt’s 31 Tests in charge of the Wallabies.The million-dollar former NRL star and the veteran coach have a relationship built on a mutual faith in the other’s ability. Suaalii only missed 10 Tests during Schmidt’s tenure, and that was always due to injury.Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Joe Schmidt have a strong bond.Getty ImagesDespite Suaalii having last played rugby as a teenager for The King’s School in Sydney before his 2024 code switch, Schmidt recognised the potential and quickly made the ex-Rooster a Wallabies regular.Instead of letting Suaalii gradually work his way into Test rugby, Schmidt threw him in at the deep end. Two years and 21 Tests later – including a man of the match performance in a famous win over England – Suaalii has not forgotten the belief Schmidt had in his ability as an unproven Test rugby prospect.“When I came in [to the Wallabies], I wasn’t really expecting anything, to be fair, and then Joe was like, ‘Right, you’re going to play’,” Suaalii said following Australia’s win over Italy on Saturday night. “I’ll always be grateful for that, that he believed in me to do a job for Australia and play in the 13 role, and it’s something that I’ll continue to do. I’ll never ever forget what he’s done for my career.”Suaalii in action in Schmidt’s 31st and final Test in charge of the Wallabies.Getty ImagesAt the Waratahs and the Wallabies, Suaalii has a reputation as a relentless trainer with a voracious appetite to learn more about rugby. But the former Rooster says the attention to detail displayed by Schmidt overshadows even his rigorous approach to the game.“He works overtime – I think he said he sleeps three or four hours and I don’t know how he does it,” Suaalii said.“He has the ability to know every player. He pronounces every player’s name perfectly, he knows every Italian player, every Irish player, every Argentinian player – he knows everyone.“His attention to detail is probably his superpower. His love for the group, for the Australian boys is something that will carry on going into the [2027] World Cup.”Suaalii credits Schmidt for having faith in him to deliver.APAfter Schmidt left his final Wallabies post-match press conference, he was stopped by Italy captain Michele Lamaro in the foyer.Lamaro had faced a lengthy inquisition by the Italian press after the 47-point defeat, but still insisted on grabbing Schmidt by the hand and saying: “You’re a legend, Joe, a legend.”Schmidt smiled and joked he was getting too old for Test rugby.Suaalii understands the affection Schmidt is held in across the rugby world.“As players, we have so much respect for him as a coach and for him as a human,” Suaalii said. “He loves the group, and he loves the game of rugby. Like I said, he doesn’t ever sleep.“It’s just the care that he has for the group, the love he has for the group; he wants us to do great things. I’m sure he’s not going to be too far away leading into the World Cup, and even years after that he’ll still be around.“What he’s left for us, the fundamentals of the game, is something that will never, ever leave us as players.”After a frustrating Super Rugby season with the Waratahs where Suaalii was often starved of the ball, he is finding himself at the heart of the Wallabies’ best attacking work. “Coming across [to rugby], I’ve loved every single moment of it – just my family getting to come to games and my missus’ family coming to games. It was a sell-out crowd in Sydney [against Ireland], a sell-out crowd at Suncorp [against France] and a sell-out crowd here in Perth [against Italy],” he said.“It’s an honour to wear the jersey with your last name on the back, and every day I’m grateful just to be here.“We haven’t had the results the last couple of weeks, but just the way we’re playing, you can tell the connection and the way that we’re playing for each other. You can really feel that as an individual out there. The results will come. It’s all in due time.”From our partners