Schmidt joins Larkham's Australia A coaching staff after Wallabies exit in July

Joe Schmidt will take up a role on the Australia A coaching staff in 2026 after concluding his tenure as Wallabies head coach following the opening round of Nations Championship fixtures in July, Rugby Australia confirmed. Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham will lead the setup, with Western Force head coach Simon Cron completing the trio.

Les Kiss will inherit the Wallabies head coaching role from Schmidt, who moves into the Australia A programme as part of a broader effort to build depth ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home soil.

Larkham’s appointment as head coach of the Australia A side comes on the back of 16 years in professional coaching, including spells with Munster and the Wallabies alongside his current role at the Brumbies. Cron arrives having guided the Force to their best Super Rugby season in 12 years.

Rugby Australia Director of High Performance Peter Horne said the calibre of the coaching group reflected the programme’s growing importance. “To have Stephen, Simon, and Joe driving this program will ensure our next cohort of players get access to an elite-level environment where they have the opportunity to grow and develop their games,” Horne said. “With the home World Cup firmly on the horizon, building genuine depth is one of our key priorities, and this campaign will allow us to do exactly that.”

The Australia A schedule is set to be released later this month. In previous years the side has featured in the Pacific Nations Cup and undertaken tours to Japan and the United Kingdom, competing in fixtures designed to bridge the gap between Super Rugby and full international level. Since returning from a 14-year absence in 2022, Australia A have recorded six wins and a draw from 11 matches.