The last time Australia won in Dublin, in November 2013, Joe Schmidt was sitting in the other coaching box having just taken control of an Ireland team in disarray. Declan Kidney had presided over a fifth-place finish in the Six Nations, Ireland’s worst result since the competition was expanded to include Italy. Having steered Leinster to back-to-back Heineken Cup wins, Schmidt was tasked with converting domestic dominance into global supremacy.
His first assignment against tier-one opposition was the visit of the Wallabies. After a “performance without spirit, urgency, or accuracy,” as the Observer’s Eddie Butler concluded, Ireland were spanked 32-15. But Schmidt had a plan and a year later he claimed his first of three Six Nations titles and would leave the post after a win rate of 72% from 76 Tests, a grand slam in 2018 and World Rugby’s coach of the year award for catapulting Ireland to the top of the world rankings for the first time.
