ACT Brumbies Head Coach Stephen Larkham has been selected to lead an experienced Australia A coaching staff in 2026, alongside Western Force Head Coach Simon Cron and current Wallabies Head Coach Joe Schmidt.
Widely regarded as one of the game's leading coaches, Larkham has overseen a sustained period of success at the Brumbies and previously enjoyed success in senior coaching roles with both the Wallabies and Munster.
“Australia A is a crucial bridge between Super Rugby and Test rugby,” Larkham said.
“It gives players the opportunity to experience the demands of an international programme while continuing their development in a high-performance environment.
“There is some outstanding talent coming through Australian Rugby and it’s exciting to work with players who have the potential to become future Wallabies.”
Schmidt will return to Australian Rugby for the Australia A programme after handing over the Wallabies Head Coach role to Les Kiss following the Nations Championship Test against Italy in Perth on July 18. Cron, meanwhile, guided the Force to their best season in 12 years in 2026, winning five of their final six Super Rugby Pacific matches.
By exposing a broader pool of Australian players to an elite-level environment, the Australia A programme is designed to build critical depth and experience ahead of Australia’s home Rugby World Cup in 2027.
In recent years, Australia A has provided development opportunities for players, coaches and staff through tours to Japan, Fiji for the Pacific Nations Cup, and the United Kingdom for matches against England A and Bristol Bears.
Australia A’s fixtures for 2026 will be released later this month.
Rugby Australia Director of High Performance Peter Horne said the calibre of the coaching group would ensure the programme continued to play a vital role in developing the next generation of international players.
“We are pleased to have assembled a highly credentialed and experienced Australia A coaching staff for this year,” Horne said.
“To have Stephen, Simon and Joe driving this programme will ensure our next cohort of players get access to an elite-level environment where they have the opportunity to grow and develop their games.
“With the home World Cup firmly on the horizon, building genuine depth is one of our key priorities and this campaign will allow us to do exactly that.”
