For months Les Kiss has been pencilled in as the favourite to take over from Joe Schmidt should the New Zealander walk away from the Wallabies in August, but on Thursday the Queensland Reds coach declared he had “too much respect” for his former colleague to entertain the role.
Just hours after new Waratahs coach Dan McKellar downplayed any possibility of taking over from Schmidt, Kiss did his best to try and distance from the role, too.
“I’ve got too much respect for Joe to go down that pathway,” Kiss told reporters at Ballymore, standing alongside Reds captains Liam Wright and Tate McDermott.
“I can give you one thing, myself, Zane [Hilton], Jonathan Fisher … the professional staff that we have that lead our performance program are contracted here, so we’re going to be doing our best to deliver what’s necessary for this team to go forward and be better every day. That’s important.
“We’ve got to get focussed on the Reds and go forward, that’s what we’re excited about. It’s too important this next day, we’ve got a session very shortly in the heat. It’s too important next week, it’s too important the tour (to the United Kingdom), Moana [Pasifika] in 35 days; that’s what we’re focussed on and that’s what we’re driven about.”
Queensland head coach Les Kiss says intent on spearheading the Reds’ Super Rugby charge. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
The circus surrounding who will coach the Wallabies through to the home Rugby World Cup on Australian shores in 2027 has continued into the third week of January, with Schmidt contracted through until the end of the British and Irish Lions series in August.
The Roar understands Schmidt could extend his time through to The Rugby Championship given the Wallabies have an almighty task ahead of them by taking on the Springboks in South Africa just two weeks after the final Lions Test on August 3.
But it remains highly unlikely Schmidt will continue with the Wallabies beyond 2025 given his family’s well-documented health struggles, with the highly respected coach possibly continuing in a consultant role and as a selector.
It’s why Kiss continues to be linked to the role should Schmidt bow out, especially given that the second year Queensland coach previously worked alongside the softly-spoken New Zealand with Ireland for three years.
Asked whether he had ambitions to one day coach the Wallabies, Kiss once again distanced himself.
“I’m loving what I’m doing at the moment,” he said.
“The rest of the staff are in a place where they’re really focussed and driven.
“As I said, we’re here to do the best thing that we can for these guys so these guys can do their best – that’s the thing that we do to serve Rugby Australia.”
Kiss later told The Roar he had not had “any communication with RA on that situation”.
“There’s been nothing there,” Kiss continued.
“It’s important for me with Joe there, who’s a good mate, I just don’t want to get into that type of talk. It’s his space to go where he wants to.”
Former Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt (R) with then assistant Les Kiss (L). Picture credit: Seb Daly / SPORTSFILE, via Getty Images)
After a moving year in 2024 similar to the one Michael Cheika experienced in his first season in charge of the Waratahs in 2013 before taking them to glory a year later, the expectation is the Reds will challenge for the Super Rugby title for the first time in more than a decade.
It comes after the Reds enticed Wallabies forwards Matt Gibbon, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Josh Canham, as well as Test back Filipo Daugunu, to Ballymore in a series of fine additions that will give the side the physicality and edge they missed last year.
As Kiss said, it will allow the Reds to move between the “gears” in games and from match to match.
In total, Kiss will have as many as 22 players who wore gold jerseys in 2024 for either the Wallabies or Australia A to choose from.
It’s a luxury that has been afforded after the sorry demise of the Rebels helped boost the depth of the remaining four Super Rugby franchises.
“It is a difficult thing but that’s the job, you’ve got to make decisions,” Kiss said on selection.
“I know I might disappoint some people at times, but I might make some other people happy. But we’re not built on one or two people, we’re built on a pack. It’ll take all of us, that’s for sure.
“Pre-season, before Christmas, these boys worked hard to deliver something. The more selection headaches I have the better.
“I do think one real quality that we have in the squad is being able to change gears a bit more and within a game, or from game to game as we need to.”
The Queensland Reds made considerable progress in 2024. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
While the Reds managed to turn Suncorp Stadium into somewhat of a fortress last year, Kiss said there was a focus on improving their form away from home after slip-ups against the Western Force in Perth and Moana Pasifika in Auckland.
“We’ve got some really challenging travel to do this year, so we might approach those things a little bit differently,” Kiss said.
“We’ve got to make sure we use the squad wisely and, along the way, get the wins that we need.”
Despite one of the strongest Reds squad since Ewen McKenzie’s side in 2011, Kiss isn’t expecting anything to come easily this season, especially with the Waratahs resembling a potent Barbarians side that has weapons across the park up front and out wide, including Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Andrew Kellaway and Taniela Tupou.
“If you look at who the Waratahs have got at their disposal now, they’re going to be a big, strong unit and they’re going to be a difficult team to get in front of,” the former State of Origin winger said.
“The Brumbies have set the pace in the last few years, the Force have improved and the Kiwis are always tough, so it’s going to be a very tough competition.”
Despite Harry Wilson emerging as the Wallabies’ captain last year, Kiss said he didn’t hesitate in asking Wright and McDermott to continue to lead the side.
“I can’t go past Liam and Tate,” Kiss said.
Liam Wright and Tate McDermott will once again lead the Reds into another Super Rugby season. Photo: 2025
“I’ve been in the Irish system and I know that the national captain wasn’t always the provincial captain.
“I think years ago here John Eales was the national captain, but we had Dan Herbert and David Wilson that did captaincy on the home front.
“At one stage there was four Wallabies captains in the Queensland team in the late 1990s, we have three captain.
“I spoke to Harry, he’s happy to follow these guys and that’s important. We’ve got Fraser [McReight] as well sitting there, Fez [Matt Faessler], we’ve got Hunter [Paisami] and Jock Campbell, good men who have leadership who will help us go out there this season.”
