The Australian Men's Sevens side has called on the expertise of Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt as they push for the World Championship title.
Schmidt was drafted in by fellow Kiwi and Men’s coach Liam Barry ahead of a critical double header in Spain (May 29-31) and France (June 5-7) that will decide the champions.
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The Wallabies coach has called upon a host of Sevens graduates in his Wallabies squads, with the likes of Dylan Pietsch, Corey Toole and Darby Lancaster debuting under the ex-Ireland boss after making the move from the seven-a-side game.
He even called in Shawn Mackay Award winner James Turner ahead of last year’s Bledisloe Cup after a string of injuries to outside backs.
“It's a great crossover and some of that crossover is in the 10-12 guys that are currently playing Super Rugby that came through the sevens program or at least spent a year in there,” Schmidt said.
“I've watched from a distance a couple of times before and done a little bit of skill work with a couple of sevens players in the past a couple of years but this is the first time I've come down and been drafted in by Liam to do a little bit.”
Barry and Schmidt started their coaching careers together at the Blues as assistant coaches in the late 2000s, completing the full circle moment as they took the helm of their respective Australian sides.
“Joe knows our program really well; he was in Hong Kong and watched us live, so it was really just an opportunity to get him again here, bring the detail that he brings to the Wallabies into our program and also let the players play in front of the Wallabies coach which is great,” he said.
“We've got quite a few Wallabies currently that have come through the Sevens program, so you know it's a real pathway for us to push our players through to Super and Wallabies beyond it.”
The Aussies are coming off a sixth place finish in Hong Kong, focused on staying in touch with the top of the ladder in Valladolid.
“We went to Hong Kong with real expectations and we fell over there. We only got sixth, which was an excellent day one and a half, but you've got to continue that, which we didn't do,” Barry added.
They have been drawn alongside Kenya, Great Britain and South Africa, with the Blitzboks taking out the Hong Kong title.
