Schmidt's charm, the new 'psycho,' and a tough young 10
With a big pack of journalists squeezed into a meeting room at the Australians' team hotel in downtown Brisbane, the wily New Zealander presented an image of calm.
Injuries have shorn Schmidt of his two biggest boppers – Rob Valetini and Will Skelton – when it was already clear the Wallabies would face a big physical test this weekend, while Taniela Tupou's form and fitness have dropped off to the extent that he has been left out of the matchday 23.
Throw in injuries for Langi Gleeson, who replaced Valetini two weekends ago against Fiji, and out-half Noah Lolesio, and Schmidt could have been forgiven for despairing.
Maybe he has done that behind closed doors, but Schmidt was again relaxed in front of the media today. He is unrecognisable from the figure he was at the end of his Ireland reign, so weighed down and worn down by stress and pressure, much of it self-imposed.
This appears to be a lighter version of the man who changed Irish rugby for the better. He remains a demanding coach who holds his players and staff to the highest standards but word in Australian rugby is that he is more chilled out than they expected.
He cracked a few jokes today, including when he was talking about 22-year-old Tom Lynagh, who gets his first start for the Wallabies on Saturday.
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'I've got massive pins myself, so I can say those skinny pins can hit the ball a decent distance,' said Schmidt with a self-deprecating smile.
There was another laugh when the Wallabies boss was speaking about how he can feel a groundswell of Australian support for his team.
'Even here in Brisbane, in town, a guy came up to me the other day and said, 'We are 100% behind you…' It was Brad Thorn!
'But it's great to have his support. I did wonder if he had his boots.'
Schmidt with Laurie Fisher at training. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
Schmidt brushed off questions about whether the Lions have been disrespectful by publicly talking about their aim of winning the series 3-0, saying tongue-in-cheek that his media officer, Marty McCambridge, hadn't sent him those press clippings.
But Schmidt knows his team are underdogs even on home soil and with all the emotion that comes when the Lions only visit once every 12 years.
It doesn't help the Wallabies' case that the heavyweight Skelton and the explosive Valetini, possibly their best player last year, haven't made it back from calf injuries in time for the first Test.
'Right on the edge, to be honest,' said Schmidt of how close they were to featuring.
'If it was the last game of the series, I think they would have been in the mix. But the risk you take if you put those guys out there and they're not quite ready and you try to push them through, you might end up worse off.
'I wouldn't say we're taking a long-term view with them, but we just felt it was the most judicious decision at the time.'
Schmidt expects them back for the second Test in Melbourne next weekend.
With Gleeson also missing due to a dead leg, Schmidt said he was excited to hand a Test debut to Western Force flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny, who previously spent a few years in the Top 14 with Castres.
Schmidt said he likes Champion de Crespigny's lineout skills and classed him as a 'roving scavenger' of a back row, while Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight was more to the point.
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