In terms of head-to-head contests, this will be the 12th time Gatland and Schmidt have faced off against each other. Schmidt has the edge with seven wins, compared to three for Gatland and one draw.
Only Graham Henry and Robbie Deans (15) and Michael Cheika and Steve Hansen (14) have faced each other more among tier one nations.
The rugby rivalry that dates back decades started when they played together in the same New Zealand teachers school team together with Gatland a hooker and Schmidt a wing.
They have coached against each other since, when Schmidt was in charge of Ireland.
After returning to New Zealand, Schmidt eventually became part of the All Blacks coaching staff, helping the side to the 2023 World Cup final where they were beaten by South Africa.
Then Australia came calling and Schmidt’s new side defeated Gatland’s Wales in two Tests in the summer of 2024.
“Both those games were tight, in Sydney and Melbourne,” said Schmidt.
“Obviously, this time last year, Wales put 40 points on the Wallabies in the World Cup.
“It’s not like they’ve metamorphosed into a bad team. They got very close to a number of teams in the Six Nations.
“I’m expecting them to be incredibly hard to beat. They’re dogmatic with the way they go about their defensive work and they are very hard to break down.”
