Next Wallabies coach Les Kiss: a mongrel mix of league and union, coach and strategist
Incoming Wallabies head coach Les Kiss at Rugby Australia's HQ in Sydney.
Photograph:Les Kiss was an injured rugby league winger looking down the barrel of retirement and a day job flogging poker machines when the idea of a career in coaching struck. The art of gelling many disparate personalities into one united team intrigued him. 'On the sideline I saw the game differently,' he realised. 'I started thinking deeply.'
The ex-North Sydney Bear turned Queensland Reds boss has plenty to think on now, having been appointed as Wallabies coach from mid-2026. The 60-year-old must now unpuzzle one of the greatest brain strainers in Australian sport: how to return the Wallabies – a rugby superpower now ranked eighth in the world – to greatness.
Related: Les Kiss confirmed as next Wallabies coach with Joe Schmidt to stay on until 2026
That challenge falls to a man who has never played a rugby union game in his life. The Bundaberg boy's coaching career is neatly split between 30 years in league – including four Origins for Queensland and four Tests for Australia – and almost as long coaching union, including key roles with the Ireland and South Africa squads.
Yet Wednesday's announcement, after a three-month recruitment drive, is welcome news to Australian rugby fans. In Kiss they have a face and philosophy to hang their hopes on in the Wallabies' quest to win the 2027 World Cup on home soil. They also get the reassurance of current coach Joe Schmidt continuing after the British & Irish Lions tour this winter and the Rugby Championship Tests in Spring.
Schmidt, who has patched the Wallabies' wounds with a 6-7 win-loss record in 2024, had initially intended to hand over the reins before the Wallabies' revenge mission to Tokyo on 25 October. There, Australia are slated to take on a Japan side coached by Eddie Jones, the ex-Wallabies coach whose diabolical nine-month reign delivered the men in gold to the doldrums of a pool-stage elimination at the 2023 World Cup.
However, despite caring for a son with severe epilepsy at home in New Zealand, Schmidt will coach on until June 2026 to allow Kiss to finish his three-year contract with the Reds, joining forces to co-marshall the Wallabies' tilt at the inaugural 2026 Nations Championship between the best sides in Europe and the rest of the world.
Unlike the torrid baton changes between five Wallabies coaches these past six years, this extended transition from Schmidt to Kiss should be smooth. The two are old friends and both cool heads who did this handover in reverse when Schmidt took the Ireland head coach role in 2013 after Kiss had filled in as interim boss for two Tests.
Calm, cunning and clever, Kiss was already a coach to watch. After joining Ireland as defensive coach in 2009, he transformed Declan Kidney's side into the world No 1, inspiring a first Six Nations grand slam in 61 years. Schmidt took what Kiss built and won three more titles, including a second grand slam in 2018.
That golden Schmidt-Kiss era at Ireland also forged a battalion of players that turned beating the All Blacks into a habit, a feat the Wallabies haven't managed this century. If Kiss can win back the 2026 Bledisloe Cup – a trophy not smeared with Australian fingerprints since 2002 – before conquering the world in 2027, his legend is assured.
Kiss is a uniquely Australian mongrel mix of league and union, coach and strategist. At the Bears, the wiry winger had speed and scored tries but tackling was his forte. Kiss was a small man who hit very big. It's why Frank Ponissi, the Melbourne Storm director of football for 17 years, tipped him into a gig with the Springboks in 2001.
A six week stint as defence coach lasted two years and earned Kiss his start in union. The diehard leaguie loved rugby's alchemy of different sizes and shapes of players. Impressed, 1991 World Cup-winning Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer brought Kiss home as his Waratahs second-in-command in 2002. A one-year coaching contract was renewed six times.
Related: Bonuses for Wallabies wins in Rugby Australia's new $240m TV broadcast deal
Work ethic is a Kiss a trademark. Wayne Bennett taught him that representing your state or country isn't a summit but a base camp. You've earned the jersey, but you haven't won anything. That 'words aren't deeds' ethos fuelled a long apprenticeship in Europe, a decade in Ireland then five years coaching London Irish in England.
Since coming home and taking over the Reds in 2024, Kiss has blossomed quickly. Last year the Reds finished fifth, their best Super Rugby result since 2013. This year they sit fourth with a 6-3 record built on a blitzkrieg defence that is drawing record crowds – a ray of sunshine for a code stuck in a 25-year storm of debt and defeat.
Now the die is cast. Despite Kiss having no international clause in his Reds contract, RA has bypassed two highly-credentialed former Wallabies assistants in Waratahs coach Dan McKellar and Brumbies boss Stephen Larkham to elevate a league winger to the top job in Australian rugby union. Kiss the Kangaroo is now the Wallabies coach.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
27 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Can South Africa finally break its ICC curse in the WTC final? Conrad confident
LONDON (AP) — South Africa is at the business end of another world cricket championship and is haunted by the ghosts of losses past. An infamous failure to win any cricket World Cup, often in heart-breaking fashion, weighs on the Proteas who are preparing for the World Test Championship final against titleholder Australia on Wednesday at Lord's. South Africa's only global title was the Champions Trophy 27 years ago. It has never reached the ODI World Cup final, falling in the semifinals five times. When it got to the climax of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bridgetown — its first world final since 1998 — it needed 30 runs off 30 balls with six wickets in hand against India. And lost by seven runs. Five of that 11 are in the WTC squad. 'It doesn't weigh heavy on us,' South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said on Monday before practice. 'It's unfair to burden this group with anything that's gone before. But you can't wish things away. We want to and we need to win another ICC event. But whatever tags come along, we don't wear that. 'It's another occasion to set the record straight, to get that first title. And you can only win it if you play in finals, and the more finals you play in you obviously improve your chances of winning. So we've got another chance. We had a chance not so long ago in the West Indies, in the T20 World Cup. Hopefully, this time, we break that duck.' Conrad brought up the choker tag to the team last December in the dressing room at Centurion, where South Africa could clinch a spot in the WTC final with a win against Pakistan. In a chase of 148 to win, South Africa was 27-3 at stumps on day three. 'I thought it was the opportune time to lay down the challenge,' Conrad said. 'If it didn't go our way, we had another chance in Cape Town. It didn't go down ... kindly, but at some stage that conversation needs to be had. It's all about choosing when to have that. So we had it the evening before, and the result worked out okay. 'We touched on it briefly the other day. Around, what were the learnings from that? What sort of response we can expect, and we're looking for.' Proteas batters look overmatched South Africa starts against Australia as the underdog. A lot is riding on seamers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen restricting the Australian batters. On the batting side, the entire Proteas squad has totaled 22 centuries. Australia star Steve Smith has 36. Conrad was unfazed. 'There's a quiet confidence amongst the batting group,' he said. 'It comes with having gotten hundreds from different players at different stages. Whilst they might not have the superstar names amongst them, as a collective we are pretty confident. 'Guys really go out there and fight for every run, every little contribution. You look at a guy like Tristan Stubbs. He doesn't bowl but you look at his celebrations when wickets get taken. That, for me, is the essence of what this team is about. But hopefully we'll see a few more names on those honors boards around the world. And those batting averages start nudging toward 40 and above, where you know you're on to something really good.' Half of the Proteas squad has never played at Lord's, but Conrad was enlightened and encouraged by advice from Stuart Broad, the England bowling great who retired less than two years ago. Broad was a former Nottinghamshire teammate of South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince. The Proteas staff dined with him on Sunday night and he joined them for practice on Monday. 'If I didn't call time at 10:50 (p.m.), I think he'd probably still be sitting there chatting to us,' Conrad said. 'Everybody walked away, like, 'Yeah, that was great.' Broady included.' Broad advised about the Lord's slope, the Dukes ball, how to bowl to the Australians, and embracing the occasion. 'We get a chance to walk away as the world test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that,' Conrad said. 'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. We are quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We're a confident bunch. We play well as a unit. If there's any vulnerabilities amongst them, I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that.' ___ AP cricket:
San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Can South Africa finally break its ICC curse in the WTC final? Conrad confident
LONDON (AP) — South Africa is at the business end of another world cricket championship and is haunted by the ghosts of losses past. An infamous failure to win any cricket World Cup, often in heart-breaking fashion, weighs on the Proteas who are preparing for the World Test Championship final against titleholder Australia on Wednesday at Lord's. South Africa's only global title was the Champions Trophy 27 years ago. It has never reached the ODI World Cup final, falling in the semifinals five times. When it got to the climax of the 2024 T20 World Cup in Bridgetown — its first world final since 1998 — it needed 30 runs off 30 balls with six wickets in hand against India. And lost by seven runs. Five of that 11 are in the WTC squad. 'It doesn't weigh heavy on us,' South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said on Monday before practice. "It's unfair to burden this group with anything that's gone before. But you can't wish things away. We want to and we need to win another ICC event. But whatever tags come along, we don't wear that. 'It's another occasion to set the record straight, to get that first title. And you can only win it if you play in finals, and the more finals you play in you obviously improve your chances of winning. So we've got another chance. We had a chance not so long ago in the West Indies, in the T20 World Cup. Hopefully, this time, we break that duck.' Conrad brought up the choker tag to the team last December in the dressing room at Centurion, where South Africa could clinch a spot in the WTC final with a win against Pakistan. In a chase of 148 to win, South Africa was 27-3 at stumps on day three. 'I thought it was the opportune time to lay down the challenge,' Conrad said. "If it didn't go our way, we had another chance in Cape Town. It didn't go down ... kindly, but at some stage that conversation needs to be had. It's all about choosing when to have that. So we had it the evening before, and the result worked out okay. 'We touched on it briefly the other day. Around, what were the learnings from that? What sort of response we can expect, and we're looking for.' Proteas batters look overmatched South Africa starts against Australia as the underdog. A lot is riding on seamers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen restricting the Australian batters. On the batting side, the entire Proteas squad has totaled 22 centuries. Australia star Steve Smith has 36. Conrad was unfazed. 'There's a quiet confidence amongst the batting group,' he said. "It comes with having gotten hundreds from different players at different stages. Whilst they might not have the superstar names amongst them, as a collective we are pretty confident. 'Guys really go out there and fight for every run, every little contribution. You look at a guy like Tristan Stubbs. He doesn't bowl but you look at his celebrations when wickets get taken. That, for me, is the essence of what this team is about. But hopefully we'll see a few more names on those honors boards around the world. And those batting averages start nudging toward 40 and above, where you know you're on to something really good.' Half of the Proteas squad has never played at Lord's, but Conrad was enlightened and encouraged by advice from Stuart Broad, the England bowling great who retired less than two years ago. Broad was a former Nottinghamshire teammate of South Africa batting coach Ashwell Prince. The Proteas staff dined with him on Sunday night and he joined them for practice on Monday. 'If I didn't call time at 10:50 (p.m.), I think he'd probably still be sitting there chatting to us," Conrad said. "Everybody walked away, like, 'Yeah, that was great.' Broady included.' 'We get a chance to walk away as the world test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that,' Conrad said. 'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute. We are quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them. We're a confident bunch. We play well as a unit. If there's any vulnerabilities amongst them, I'm sure we'd be able to exploit that.' ___
Newsweek
31 minutes ago
- Newsweek
How to Watch Italy vs Moldova: Live Stream FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, TV Channel
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Group I qualifying for the 2026 World Cup continues Monday, with Italy taking on Moldova in a must-win match for both sides. Neither team has picked up a point so far. Italy has lost its only match, while Moldova has dropped both of its opening games. The road to qualification won't be easy, especially with Norway leading the group after winning all three of its matches, and Israel sitting in second with two victories. Italy's defender #23 Alessandro Bastoni celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 Group B football match between Italy and Albania at the BVB Stadion in Dortmund on June 15, 2024. Italy's defender #23 Alessandro Bastoni celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 Group B football match between Italy and Albania at the BVB Stadion in Dortmund on June 15, 2024. Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images How to Watch Italy vs Moldova: Date: Monday, June 9, 2025 Time: 2:30 PM ET Channel: FOX Sports 2 Stream: Fubo (Try for free) Moldova kicked off its qualifying campaign in March with a tough 5-0 loss to Norway. Things improved slightly in their second outing, but they still came up short in a 3-2 defeat to Estonia. One bright spot was Ion Nicolaescu, Moldova's all-time leading scorer, who found the back of the net in that match. Meanwhile, Italy didn't play during the March window due to its involvement in the UEFA Nations League. The Azzurri finally took the field on June 6 and, like Moldova, were overpowered by group leaders Norway in a 3-0 loss. Italy is aiming to return to the World Cup for the first time since 2014. The 2006 champions have endured a stunning fall from grace, missing back-to-back tournaments, a first in their storied history. Moldova, on the other hand, is still chasing its first-ever World Cup appearance, but a winless start to qualifying suggests that wait may continue. Live stream this match as well as many other FIFA World Cup qualifying matchups this week by starting a free trial of Fubo now. Live stream the Italy vs Moldova game on Fubo: Start your free trial now! Regional restrictions may apply. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.
