Former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has been named as the new Wallabies boss, replacing Eddie Jones.

Jones abruptly quit in October, 10 months into a five-year contract, after the team’s terrible World Cup run. They had won only two of their nine Tests.

Japan has since hired him.

Rugby Australia (RA), the governing body of rugby, said that Schmidt, from New Zealand, will be the Wallabies’ coach from March 1 until at least the end of the British and Irish Lions Tour in 2025.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to try to pitch in and get Australia up and running,” Schmidt told a news conference.

The Wallabies in the World Cup were “not an Australian team that I recognised”, he said. “That was when it first really came on my radar.”

“It’s a rebuild that will take a little bit of time and I’m probably a pragmatist — I can’t promise anything other than I’ll be working really hard to try to make it as successful as it can be,” the incoming coach said.

“I’m also a realistic coach — you are judged on your outcomes and you live or die by them.”

Schmidt said that he would spend less time at home helping his “suffers quite badly with epilepsy” because of his new job, when asked if he would have liked a longer contract.

“If we can get the job done over the next 18 months and we can get the momentum heading in the right direction, then I will feel like have done my part of it and I’ll be happy to hand on.”

Peter Horne, who has worked as a World Rugby administrator for a long time, was named RA’s new director of high performance last month. David Nucifora, who was Ireland’s high-performance director, came back home to help.

Schmidt, who is 58 years old, coached Ireland from 2013 to 2019 and was a big part of making them the best team in the world. Both men have close relationships with Schmidt.

He most recently worked as an assistant coach for the All Blacks at the last World Cup, where they came in second place to South Africa.

“It was a unanimous decision to appoint Joe — everyone on the panel was impressed by his demeanour, his calm and logical approach to the game, as well as his communication style,” Horne said in a statement.

“Throughout his career, Joe has demonstrated an ability to take a leadership role in structural reform while developing a strong culture and world-class players,” he added.

“From my personal experience working with Joe at World Rugby, he is an ideal fit for the Wallabies and Australian Rugby at this time, and I am looking forward to working closely with him on developing a stronger alignment with our Super Rugby clubs to maximise our performances.”

For the Lions tour, Australia has 18 months to get ready. Two years after that, they will host the men’s World Cup.

In July, Wales will go on tour in Australia.

Phil Waugh, the CEO of Rugby Australia, praised Schmidt’s work, especially with Ireland and the All Blacks.

“With the appointment of Joe Schmidt as head coach, it’s a really exciting time for the Wallabies and also for rugby in Australia,” Waugh told reporters.

“Joe brings with him an enormous amount of experience, but also an enormous amount of success with each team that Joe has coached,” he said.

Rugby Australia said that more information about the appointments of coaching staff would be made public later.