It's only been a couple of days in camp yet Joe Schmidt's approach to Wallabies camp has impressed players as they load up before next week's opening Test of 2024.
The squad have just under two weeks together before the July 6 game against Wales in Sydney, who are coming off a hit-out against South Africa.
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It leaves Schmidt and the new coaching staff racing the clock to install their game plan before the two-Test series, followed instantly by a game against Georgia.
However, his approach towards the basics has stood out to flyhalf Noah Lolesio as they look to gel as a group.
“(We’re) jamming in a lot of detail because there’s not much time with the first game against Wales next week so it’s just backs and forwards trying to get on the same page on how we want to attack and play," Lolesio said to the media.
“He’s real hard on doing the real simple things well and staying in every phase. That’s probably the one thing I’ve learnt so far with Joe is you can have all the best shape in the world but if you don’t get the fundamentals right, then you’ve got no platform to play on.”
Schmidt has built an experienced coaching staff, headlined by the return of legendary coach Laurie Fisher.
Veterans James Slipper and Kurtley Beale have been through several coaches and camps throughout their storied careers and admitted the simplistic nature of Schmidt's coaching staff messaging stood out.
“It’s great the way he talks about certain aspects of the game, especially around the attacking ruck," Beale said on the head coach.
“It’s simple but emphasises the importance of that work to allow us to play how we want to play.
“It’s the first thing we got stuck into but he’s pretty honest, tells it how it is and a lot of guys are able to pick up on that and move forward."
“(Laurie Fisher) gives you very clear instructions of what he wants," Slipper added.
“He’s coached across the world and been around for god knows how many years but he’s a very relatable coach.
“A lot of players really enjoy being coached by ‘Lord’ and you know what you’re going to get him and that’s probably the best thing for a player.”
Slipper is confident there's enough time for the team to come together and produce a strong performance against Wales.
“We’ve only got four days so the runway into the first game is minimal," Slipper admits.
“We have five teams coming into one so we’ve got to make that happen pretty quickly and on top of that, we’ve got new staff and players so there’s a lot of work to do.
“As a planning group, we know what’s in front of us and it’s been laid out. There’s a lot of work and detail to get across but we’re confident that we’ll be in a position come next weekend that we’ll be ready.”
