The code in Australia has endured years of false starts: the Michael Cheika-Raelene Castle era dramatically fell apart in 2019; the Bill Pulver-Ewen McKenzie partnership ended with the coach resigning the day of the 2014 Bledisloe Cup Test. Perhaps the worst moments came after the then-chair of Rugby Australia, Hamish McLennan, axed Dave Rennie and hired Eddie Jones to coach the Wallabies in 2023. Jones was supposed to rescue rugby from administration-induced doldrums with a winning team that would attract crowds, coverage and television ratings. Instead, he delivered just two Test wins until the Herald’s Tom Decent revealed him being secretly interviewed by Japanese rugby officials on the eve of the World Cup. Since those days of disaster, the Wallabies’ trajectory improved under Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh, who took over in late 2023, and chair Daniel Herbert, who replaced McLennan in early 2024. Schmidt was appointed coach in January 2024. Schmidt turned the Wallabies around from the ignominy of the Jones era. He didn’t transform them but they finished that season a better side than when they started. They won back-to-back home Tests against Wales and also beat Georgia in Australia. They registered one win and five defeats in the Rugby Championship but bounced back during their Grand Slam tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland, beating England and Wales and losing to Scotland and Ireland. Rugby Australia faces many challenges, not least last year’s $36.8 million loss and the flight of senior players heading offshore. But settling the coaching succession is a giant step into a brighter future.