As the end of his two-year tenure leading Australia’s national rugby union team, the Wallabies, draws near this month, 60-year-old head coach Joe Schmidt has made clear that he has no intentions of continuing his career as a senior international rugby coach — and a return to his former role at Irish provincial side Leinster is not on the cards for the immediate future.\n\nSchmidt will officially pass control of the Wallabies to incoming head coach Les Kiss following the upcoming three-nation Nations Championship fixtures against Ireland, France and Italy. A well-decorated coach with an already legendary track record in European rugby, Schmidt previously spent six years at the helm of Ireland’s men’s national side, where he claimed three Six Nations titles — including an undefeated Grand Slam victory in 2018. Before taking the Ireland job in 2013, he also led Leinster to back-to-back European Rugby Champions Cup titles over his three-year spell with the Dublin-based province.\n\nWhen asked about potential future coaching opportunities in top-level roles, the New Zealand-born coach told reporters he holds no ambition to continue working as a head coach, either at the international or domestic level. “I don’t really have any ambition to keep coaching as a head coach or anything else,” Schmidt explained. “I don’t feel like I need to be a head coach, and I certainly don’t need to be a national head coach.”\n\nWith long-serving Leinster head coach Leo Cullen set to step down from his role at the end of the 2026-27 season, speculation has linked Schmidt to a possible return to the province he helped turn into a European powerhouse. Even with his son already on Leinster’s staff, Schmidt rejected any suggestion he would take the open position when it becomes available, at least for now. \n\n“They’ve already got my son working for them, so I don’t think they need the whole family,” Schmidt said with a laugh. He went on to praise the consistent, high-performing culture the current Leinster set-up has built, noting: “I think Leinster are a juggernaut. I know silverware in Europe is the massive benchmark for them, but they’ve done everything but that and been so competitive and so consistent.”\n\nPressed directly on whether he would consider taking the Leinster head coaching job if approached, Schmidt’s response was clear: “Not at the moment.”\n\nThe outgoing Wallabies boss emphasized he is fully focused on his final three matches in charge of Australia, prioritizing a strong finish and a smooth transition for his successor. “You guys know me well. I’m very short-term focused. I’m just trying to get through these last three games to help as best I can and help the group grow a little bit further,” he said. “I feel like they are great. I feel like I can take a few steps back, and they can really lead themselves now. I think that’s a great transition for Les in that they can grab the reins.”\n\nLooking ahead to life after international coaching, Schmidt already has his next plans locked in: he will fly to Ireland on August 10 to meet his newborn grandson, and he is looking forward to stepping away from the pressures of top-level coaching to enjoy family time. “I’m certainly going up there, but not to be coaching really. I’ll be looking forward to that heatwave!”