Gatland and Schmidt’s Rivalry Rekindled in Cardiff

The Autumn Nations Series match between Wales and Australia, scheduled for Sunday, 17 November, at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with a 16:10 GMT kick-off, will feature coaches Joe Schmidt and Warren Gatland, who previously met during the Six Nations match between Ireland and Wales in 2018. Coverage will be available live on S4C, BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, and via live text and commentary on the BBC Sport website and app. Warren Gatland, the head coach for Wales, who is currently under pressure, may find some familiarity in facing fellow New Zealander Joe Schmidt this weekend. However, if Schmidt, coaching the Wallabies, leads his team to another victory over Gatland’s Wales on Sunday, this familiarity could intensify their rivalry. Gatland has experienced a difficult week, marked by a 24-19 defeat to Fiji last Sunday, which constituted their tenth consecutive international loss. Should Wales suffer another defeat, they would reach an unprecedented low, exceeding their previous worst sequence of results established under Steve Hansen, also a New Zealander, between 2002 and 2003. Schmidt commented on Gatland’s situation, stating, “I’m sure Warren is feeling some pressure, just like any international coach.” He added, “He was obviously highly successful in his previous tenure with Wales. He was successful with Wasps. I think anyone can have a lean spell, when teams are transitioning. I look at some of the players he had when I first started competing with Ireland against Wales. There are some good players there now like Adam Beard, Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, Aaron Wainwright and Dewi Lake to name but a few. There is a period of time that it takes for them to adjust to Test rugby. That’s part of that transition Gats is trying to accelerate at the moment.” Schmidt also remarked on the intense environment of international rugby for all leading coaches, saying, “I just think you’re all under pressure. I feel under more pressure than I was last week. Last week, no one expected us to win. Suddenly, when expectations shift and you’re up against a team that are on a losing run, you’re expected to win.” This upcoming match will mark the twelfth head-to-head encounter between Gatland and Schmidt. Schmidt currently holds a superior record with seven victories, while Gatland has secured three wins, and one match ended in a draw. Among tier one nations, only Graham Henry and Robbie Deans (15 matches), and Michael Cheika and Steve Hansen (14 matches) have faced each other more frequently. Their rugby rivalry spans decades, originating when they were teammates in the same New Zealand teachers school team, with Gatland playing as a hooker and Schmidt as a wing. They later began coaching against each other during Schmidt’s tenure as Ireland’s coach. Following his return to New Zealand, Schmidt subsequently joined the All Blacks coaching staff, contributing to the team’s journey to the 2023 World Cup final, where they were defeated by South Africa. Subsequently, Australia recruited Schmidt, and his new team triumphed over Gatland’s Wales in two Test matches during the summer of 2024. Schmidt commented on their recent matches, stating, “Both those games were tight, in Sydney and Melbourne. Obviously, this time last year, Wales put 40 points on the Wallabies in the World Cup. It’s not like they’ve metamorphosed into a bad team. They got very close to a number of teams in the Six Nations. I’m expecting them to be incredibly hard to beat. They’re dogmatic with the way they go about their defensive work and they are very hard to break down.”