{"id":611173,"date":"2026-07-30T06:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T06:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/611173\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T06:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T06:02:21","slug":"joe-schmidt-lands-first-coaching-role-following-wallabies-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/611173\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Schmidt lands first coaching role following Wallabies exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joe Schmidt has landed his first coaching role since leaving his post as Wallabies boss, joining United Rugby Championship side Ulster<\/a> on a consultancy basis.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The New Zealander is no stranger to Irish rugby, having served as head coach of both Leinster and Ireland in his career, and heads to the Affidea Stadium to strengthen Ulster\u2019s coaching development pathway.<\/p>\n

As part of his new role, Schmidt will work with Ulster coaching staff at all levels, providing mentorship, guidance and strategic support. He joins on a 12-month basis and will have in-person visits as well as remote interactions.<\/p>\n

His appointment also follows a growing trend of consultant coaches in European club rugby, with PREM outfit Harlequins appointing Robbie Deans on a similar deal.<\/p>\n

Joe Schmidt lands Ulster consultancy role following Wallabies exit<\/p>\n

Schmidt<\/a> brings a wealth of coaching experience with him to the Belfast-based side, working with the Blues, Clermont Auvergne and the All Blacks as an assistant coach while also taking Leinster to back-to-back European titles between 2011 and 2012, one Pro12 title and one Challenge Cup.<\/p>\n

On the Test stage, he also guided Ireland to three Six Nations titles, including one Grand Slam, and served as Wallabies boss.<\/p>\n

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Commenting on joining Ulster, he said: \u201cUlster has a proud rugby tradition and further developing the coaching pathway in the region is something that we believe can add value.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had initial discussions about where to get started, and I\u2019ve already had the opportunity to work with some of the school coaches, alongside Dan Soper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n

Ulster head coach, Richie Murphy, added: \u201cI\u2019ve worked with Joe on a number of occasions throughout my coaching career and know first-hand the value he brings to an organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re delighted to have someone of Joe\u2019s calibre involved with Ulster Rugby. His experience will be hugely beneficial in the development of coaches throughout the entire pathway.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe impact of that support will be felt right across the province for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also commenting, Rory Best, Ulster<\/a> general manager, added: \u201cLast season we introduced a dedicated focus on player development within our performance pathway. It is equally important that we prioritise the long-term development of our coaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrengthening our coaching pathway is a key part of our long-term strategy. Joe\u2019s involvement will help us support coaches at every stage of their journey, from emerging coaches in schools and clubs through to those operating across our pathway programmes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis experience will help create a more connected and consistent coaching environment across the province.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Loose Pass: \u2018Abhorrent\u2019 amount of referee abuse in New Zealand and concussion case enters \u2018unprecedented territory\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Schmidt has landed his first coaching role since leaving his post as Wallabies boss, joining United Rugby…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[1128,9,10,18,13,14,6,794,19,17,64661,11,12,15,16,5,7,8,1271,41016,42271],"class_list":["post-611173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-australia","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-eire","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-home-page","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-joe-schmidt","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-transfers","tag-ulster","tag-united-rugby-championship"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117007413888618244","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}