Joe Schmidt faces familiar foe Warren Gatland as Wallabies 'under ...
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and his fellow countryman Warren Gatland have been battling together for years on the international scene — yet rarely has the pressure been ramped up quite so high in their crunch Cardiff Test.
This, the 12th duel between the pair, at the Principality Stadium on Sunday (Monday AEDT) comes with a feeling of real jeopardy for 61-year-old Gatland, should Schmidt's side consign Wales to a record-breaking 11th successive defeat.
It seems hard to imagine this proud rugby nation would continue to stick by Gatland should the Wallabies seal an even more terrible Welsh run than when another Kiwi coaching great, Steve Hansen, oversaw 10-straight losses between 2002 and 2003.
And Schmidt could be just the man to deliver the killer blow, possessing a fine record against the man he once played alongside in a New Zealand teachers' team, having won seven and lost three of their 11 contests as coaches.
Yet, ironically, the 59-year-old Wallabies mentor, so often the target of jovial wind-ups by Gatland down the years whether he's been with Ireland, New Zealand or Australia, reckons the fabulous win over England last weekend has put more pressure on him too.
"It's funny, I feel under more pressure than I was last week because last week nobody expected us to win," Schmidt said.
"Suddenly, when expectation shifts and you're up against a team on a losing kind of run, you're expected to win.
"But it doesn't actually mean anything in terms of the players running out and getting the job done, so I think everyone feels pressure."
Warren Gatland is under serious pressure as Wales coach. (Getty Images: Daniel Pockett)
Among coaching head-to-heads, Schmidt and Gatland's rivalry has only ever been exceeded in internationals by Graham Henry and Robbie Deans, who faced each other 15 times, while Michael Cheika locked antlers with Hansen 14 times.
Despite Schmidt orchestrating narrow wins in Sydney and Melbourne in July, he has seen enough of Gatland's latest charges to declare: "They'll be incredibly hard to beat … they're dogmatic the way they go about their defensive work and very hard to break down."
"And, obviously, this time last year, Wales put 40 points on the Wallabies in the World Cup," he said.
"So it's not like they've metamorphosed into a bad team. They got very close to beating a number of teams in the Six Nations too.
"I've known Gats for a long time. He was obviously highly successful in his previous tenure with Wales.
"I think anyone can have a lean spell when teams are transitioning."
With a side featuring six changes from the one that accounted for England and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii starting on the bench, Schmidt is trusting some of his experienced thirty-somethings to come to the fore, like Nic White, Samu Kerevi and Will Skelton.
"Will and Samu didn't play last week, but they're two really, really well respected players within the playing group," Schmidt said.
"They're both genuine leaders on the pitch and in preparation to get what we need done on the pitch. That's a bit of a bonus.
"Samu is a high-impact player, a handful to defend and, defensively, he's slotted in really well. So we just want a really solid game from him and the ability to challenge the line at the same time being really accurate in what he does."
AAP
