After the Chicago White Sox lost the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds, eight players, including legendary slugger ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, received a lifetime ban for accepting money to throw the series.

It was the Chicago Tribune’s Charley Owens who coined the saying ‘Say it ain’t so, Joe,’ writing in disbelief that the popular Jackson would be involved in the scam; something that many fans refused to accept.

There’s no suggestion that the Wallabies threw their match against Ireland. Far from it; the 22-19 loss was marked by a manful, combative 80-minute effort, the Wallabies only surrendering the lead in the 74th minute, to a side much further advanced in their development.

But for Australian rugby, that same headline is as apt today as it was in 1919, with the game holding its breath for Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt to indicate whether or not he will continue on after next year’s Lions tour, towards the World Cup in 2027.

Schmidt’s anguish is palpable. He is a man torn between giving back to his wife and family; to take his turn as carer for a special needs son. Wives of career coaches are special people, and even if they know what they are signing up for and happen to enjoy trying out life in different cities around the globe, there also comes a time when it is ‘their turn’.

On the counter side, Schmidt would love to finish off what he has started with the Wallabies. If his coaching record has a blemish, it is that he has never tasted success at a World Cup – with Ireland, and last year, as an assistant coach with the All Blacks.

But more than that, it is plainly evident that Schmidt is enjoying his time with this Wallabies group – as the players are with him – learning and growing together. Forget this year’s six-win, seven-loss record. Anybody familiar with the Wallabies at the World Cup and through 2024 can see that the progress made is significant, and that there is still much more to come.

In an effort to differentiate him from Eddie ‘give yourself an uppercut’ Jones, Schmidt was lazily painted in some sections of the media as humourless and boring. In person, and in the public speaking arena, he is anything but.

What Wallabies fans – and the cash-strapped Rugby Australia – desperately crave is a well-coached, winning side. That the coach happens to be a thoroughly decent and engaging man is a bonus.

The decision to stay on or walk away will be Schmidt’s alone. No amount of money – even if Rugby Australia had any – will make a difference. But if he does go, regardless of the outcome of the Lions series, there is a sense that the ship has been righted enough, to provide a new, potentially inexperienced Test coach, with a far more stable and palatable starting position, than would have been the case this time last year.

Scrum coach Mike Cron looms as an important piece in this puzzle. Closely aligned to Schmidt, and about to turn 70, there is a chance he will choose to go whenever the gaffer goes. But there is also a sense that he is enjoying the enthusiastic way the players are responding to his coaching, as much as Schmidt is.

We all know people whose life ambition is to retire early. Similarly, many of us also all know rugby coaches who can’t abide by the thought of giving it away. When rugby is in your blood as thick as it is in Cron’s, what else is a man to do?

The last Lions tour, to South Africa in 2021, was a turgid, mean-spirited affair, ravaged by COVID, a visiting coach happy to adopt an underdog siege mentality, and a home coach happy to test the boundaries of fairness.

Importantly for rugby, Schmidt’s presence, along with his old assistant coach in Andy Farrell, now Lions coach, will ensure a far more respectful and enjoyable series. Competitive, absolutely, but because of their understanding and relationship, without any need to descend into acrimony and animosity.

The thing about Lions tours is that they are so big, there should never be a need to manufacture headlines. Seismic levels of support are already baked in, via the swarms of touring fans, and the prospect – even if it is sometimes not delivered – of tense, elite-level rugby.

Even without the 2-2 outcome from this northern tour, fears that the Lions series would be a wipe-out – and according to some pundits, called off – were always a nonsense.

Schmidt has progressively narrowed his selection, and while he is still not where he’d like to be (for example, Tane Edmed didn’t get an opportunity to show himself in this match, and depth at prop remains a work-in-progress), cohesion is starting to build and self-belief is increasing.

There is also now an increasing number of players who, with games under their belt, are emerging as high-quality, consistently reliable Test players; Fraser McReight at the top of that list, Rob Valetini alongside, and Tom Wright also now in that same picture. There are others not far behind.

That lift in self-belief tends to manifest itself first in defensive performance, and while the Wallabies conceded three tries in this match, considering the overwhelming possession and territory skew in Ireland’s favour, there were some encouraging periods of heavy, connected and well-disciplined defence that the Wallabies will be able to take with them over the summer break, into next season.

By the same token, Ireland for the most part, handled Australia well, rushing and hunting as a pack, always putting pressure on the ball carrier and distributor. Indeed, it took a decisive play call by Noah Lolesio and two superb balls from himself and Tom Wright to unlock Ireland for Max Jorgensen’s 18th-minute try.

More typical was the final two minutes. Firstly, the aforementioned Wright and Fraser McReight fouling things up in the midfield, then Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii handing off into a midfield crowded with green shirts; effectively 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing off any chance of a final-minute, Twickenham-style miracle.

The pressure the Wallabies were under was also partly self-inflicted, with a number of opportunities to reef the ball long into Ireland’s half being spurned. Lolesio had a good all-round match, but consistently lacked 10-15 metres on the hoof.

He was by no means the only offender (and let’s not forget New Zealand has a similar problem with Beauden Barrett), and this is surely something players will be tasked with improving in the off-season.

Also frustrating was the inability of the Wallabies to bring Suaalii into the play more; no better illustrated than in the 64th minute when, with Suaallii in space and gagging for a running opportunity, he was ignored by his centre partner Len Ikitau, who elected to run into traffic, and was duly turned over.

There were other half-chances. The last time Taniela Tupou gassed it into space like he did in the 31st minute was against Georgia in the World Cup, when he threw a no-look, overhead pass that resulted in a try.

Ireland, unfortunately, are not Georgia. They scrambled back at pace and in numbers, shutting down the opportunity, albeit it did result in another three points from Lolesio, who was an impressive 5/5 from the tee.

Also costly was referee Andre Piardi’s failure to detect a knock-on by Hugo Keenan in a catching contest that preceded Ireland’s second try. Piardi is a promising referee, with a calm demeanour, and he got a lot of things right in what was a tight, fiercely contested match.

In contentious moments like this one was, one wonders if he could have got more support from one of his touchline assistants – one of whom a bit later seemed so distracted by Mac Hansen stepping on his toes, a metre over the sideline, he forgot to put his flag up.

One final frustration was the handling of an early tackle incident, where Ireland lock Joe McCarthy instigated head on head contact with ball-carrier Rob Valetini. Piardi’s interpretation – to assess the contact as low danger and penalise McCarthy without issuing a yellow card was – by any measure of what is currently accepted as the appropriate treatment – a disappointing error.

Yes, the contact wasn’t as heavy as some, and neither player was subjected to an HIA. Nevertheless, the head clash was obvious, and clearly initiated by McCarthy, who increased his body height into the contact, with no mitigation in his doing so.

What Piardi failed to discern was that his ‘low force’ determination should have been a factor in keeping McCarthy’s card sanction at yellow instead of red, as opposed to being a reason not to give him a card at all.

This confounding decision is merely another in a long line of frustrations that World Rugby seem impervious to. Yes, rugby is a dynamic, fast-paced sport where margins are fine and absolutes can sometimes be difficult to determine.

But how much better could the game be if, instead of indulging in self-congratulatory backslaps over mouthguard technology and being ‘better than rugby league’, World Rugby honestly and vigorously addressed the inconsistencies, process and knowledge gaps, and communications failures that breed cynicism and discontent amongst fans, media, coaches and players?

Finally this week, after Wallabies stalwart prop James Slipper celebrated his milestone appearance in Sydney earlier this year, it was the turn of Cian Healy to rewrite the record books, making a record 134th Test appearance for Ireland.

At 37 years of age, having debuted in 2009, and at the forefront of Ireland’s rise to become one of rugby’s global powers, that’s quite some career at the top level.

While the Wallabies now head into a well-earned rest period, don’t forget to tune in again next week as we wrap up all of the highs and lows of 2024.