Incoming Australia coach Les Kiss to take charge of Lions tour invitational team
Incoming Wallabies coach Les Kiss will get an early taste of international rugby when he oversees the AUNZ Invitational XV against the British & Irish Lions in Adelaide.
Queensland Reds mentor Kiss will team up with former All Blacks coach Ian Foster, who was already announced as an assistant for the July fixture, the first time since 1989 that Australia and New Zealand have combined on the field.
That match was won 19-15 by the touring Lions, however only two of the seven Kiwi players originally named in the squad decided to play. There are hopes that Japan-based stars like Michael Hooper, Aaron Smith and Richie Mo'unga could be attracted to participate this time around.
Kiss, who will replace current Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt next year, was looking forward to guiding the trans-Tasman selection, with the match a week before the first Test in Brisbane on 19 July.
'It's a privilege to be able to lead the coaching group for the combined AUNZ Invitational XV,' he said in a statement. 'I'm looking forward to working with a coach like Ian, who has wide-ranging experience at the highest level of the game.'
Rugby Australia also announced that former Wallabies No 8 Toutai Kefu would coach the First Nations and Pasifika XV, who will play the Lions at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on 22 July.
Currently coaching in Japan, Kefu was part of the victorious Wallabies squad in the 2001 Lions series and was previously head coach of Tonga for seven years.
'First Nations and Pasifika people contribute massively to the game all around the world and the significance of this game in celebrating those ongoing contributions can't be overstated, especially against a team with the history of the British and Irish Lions,' Kefu said in the statement.
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'I'm looking forward to getting together as a group in July and representing our people with a strong performance.'
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