Joe Schmidt ended up having the last laugh over his former assistant Andy Farrell at this year's Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand-born coach Schmidt was head coach of the Irish team for six years during the 2010s, assisted by Farrell. The coaching team would ultimately lead Ireland to three Six Nations titles (including a Grand Slam). A maiden victory over the All Blacks followed, before Farrell took over from Schmidt after Ireland's disappointing performance at the 2019 World Cup.
The past 18 months have seen Schmidt return to coaching with the All Blacks, having returned home to New Zealand, and the World Cup quarter-finals saw his side dump out Farrell's Ireland at the last eight stage.
Despite the disappointment of yet another World Cup quarter-final defeat, Farrell remains the outstanding candidate to take charge of the Lions for their tour of Australia in 2025 - perhaps even alongside Irish legend Ronan O'Gara.
Fresh reports from Australia suggest that he may end up coming up against a familiar face if he does end up taking the Lions job for 2025.
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Joe Schmidt linked with intriguing Australia switch
Australian sports publication The Roar reported this week that World Rugby's director of high performance Peter Horne is on the verge of switching to the same role within Rugby Australia.
The Wallabies' inquest into their disastrous World Cup in France continues, with head coach Eddie Jones departing his role after less than a year in charge. The Roar's report suggests that the potential arrival of Horne could be crucial in sealing the appointment of Joe Schmidt to take over from Jones.
Schmidt and Horne are good friends, and are reported to have worked well together when Schmidt took on a role in World Rugby after his departure from the Ireland job.
Crucially, it appears as though former Leinster and Ireland coach Schmidt is interested in taking over as Australia head coach.
14 October 2023; Jonathan Sexton of Ireland shakes hands with New Zealand assistant coach Joe Schmidt after the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between Ireland and New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
It would be a major coup for the Wallabies, as they attempt to recover from their worst ever World Cup performance. Never before had an Australian team been knocked out at the pool stage, but defeats to Wales and Fiji saw them finish third in their group and head home before the quarter-finals.
When Joe Schmidt took on the Ireland job in 2013, he did so after a disastrous Six Nations in which they finished fifth with just one win, and turned them into back-to-back Six Nations champions in 2014 and 2015 before pushing on to even bigger things.
Similarly, his arrival into the All Blacks' coaching team in the aftermath of last summer's series defeat to Ireland has seen him play a major role in their return to the top of the game - they were ultimately but a point away from being crowned world champions in October.
Given his impact on both the Ireland and New Zealand setups, and the position that Australia find themselves in, it would be a no-brainer appointment if Schmidt is indeed interested.
The Roar go on to suggest that any potential coaching role for Schmidt with the Wallabies could be enough to convince former IRFU Performance Director David Nucifora to join him in Australia.
With the British and Irish Lions' next tour under two years away and taking place in Australia, and Andy Farrell in pole position to take the role of Lions head coach, it now seems as though we may see Farrell and Joe Schmidt finally go toe-to-toe as head coaches.
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