How They Met: True love was on the curriculum for Joe Schmidt and wife Kellie

New Zealander Joe Schmidt will forever remain a champion of Irish rugby who led the boys in green through one of their most decorated eras of Six Nations and Grand Slam glory.

The former Ireland head coach departed the All Blacks coaching team after the 2023 Rugby World Cup and then Rugby Australia as the new Wallabies head coach in 2024 however he'll be leaving the post in October after the Lions Tour, which the British and Irish side has just won, and the 2025 Rugby Championship.

Joe, whose ties to Ireland go back well before he answered Ireland's call, wants to 'spend more at home with his family' and his wife Kellie has been by his side through every twist and turn.

How they met

Joe was born in Kawakawa in Northland in New Zealand in 1965. His family moved quite a bit when he was very young and he was raised in Woodville.

Completing school at 16, he had dreams of going into education and he applied to a teacher training course only to be turned down because he was too young.

He got a job in a local bank and in 1983 he decided to follow his heart and enroll in teacher training school. It was there that he met his true love and future wife, Kellie.

Tying the knot

Peter O'Mahony, Joe Schmidt and Jonathan Sexton. Pic: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

The couple exchanged vows in 1990 and they decided that they wanted to go travelling before they settled down for good. They had their hearts set on teaching in the UK but the universe would throw a curveball!

Moving to Ireland

Joe had been playing for his province Manawatū and in 1991, at the age of 24, he took Oversees Experience leave.

He moved to Ireland with his wife after he was invited to play and coach the Mullingar rugby team. He also coached at Westmeath's Wilson's Hospital at the time.

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. Pic: Sportsfile

The couple only planned to stay for one season but they had a ball and stayed for a year and a half.

They made lifelong friends during their stay, as the coach recalls in his memoir Ordinary Joe: 'Jas and Marian Gillespie, who adopted us when we first stayed in their bed-and-breakfast in Multyfarnham, have become pseudo-grandparents to our children.'

He then returned home to New Zealand where he sadly suffered a career-ending injury.

Family life

Joe Schmidt with his son Luke prior to the European Rugby Champions Cup Semi-Final match between Leinster Rugby and Scarlets at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The couple has four children together, two daughters Ella and Abby, and two sons, Tim and Luke.

Joe and his wife moved to Ireland with their four kids in 2010 after he scored the job as Leinster's head coach and the team won Heineken Cup trophies during his reign.

Tim Schmidt, Terenure College, in action against Darragh Kelly, Clongowes, Powerade Leinster Schools Junior Cup First Round, Clongowes Wood College SJ v Terenure College, Donnybrook Stadium, Donnybrook, Dublin in 2011. Pic: Ray Lohan/Sportsfile

In 2013, he was named Ireland's head coach which was a position he held until 2019.

He called time on the position after the boys in green were defeated by the All Blacks in the quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup in Japan. He was succeeded by Andy Farrell.

Pic: Getty Images

Putting his family first

Joe's son Luke was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of four after a sizeable brain tumour was removed, leaving him suffering from debilitating seizures as a result of tissue damage.

At one stage he was experiencing up to 15 seizures a day and has undergone numerous surgeries including one which lasted 13 hours.

Viewers of the Late Late Show praised the dad-of-four for speaking about his son's condition and how it reframed the crushing World Cup loss in Toyko.

Joe worked with his homeland national team since the summer of 2022, joining as a selector and then he became head attack coach. He announced his retirement following the 2023 World Cup.

Joe's next chapter

Head coach Joe Schmidt during a Wallabies training session at Ballymore Stadium in Australia. Pic: Getty Images

In January 2024 it was confirmed that Joe would be joining the Wallabies coaching team and had signed a two-year deal. According to the Independent, he said: 'I am conscious that the Wallabies have weathered a difficult period, and I am keen to help them build a way forward, with greater alignment and clear direction from RA.'

Now though, he's looking to wrap up his time with the team and will be leaving the Wallabies after the conclusion of the Rugby Championship towards the end of 2025.

Speaking as Joe's exit was confirmed, Australian Rugby's Head of the High Performance Peter Horne said: 'Joe expressed to us that he was enjoying his work with the Wallabies while also making clear his need to spend more time at home with his family.'