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4w ago

Les Kiss Leaves Reds After Quarter‑Final Loss and Will Shadow Schmidt as Wallabies Coach

Shadowing Joe Schmidt for three July Tests gives Kiss direct influence over short-term Wallabies selection.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 02: Head Coach Les Kiss of the Reds is seen during the warm up before the round 12 Super Rugby match between Queensland Reds and ACT Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium, on May 02, 2026, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Incoming Wallabies coach Les Kiss (R) and the man he is taking over from, Joe Schmidt
Departing Reds coach Les Kiss is optimistic about the future despite another Super finals loss. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

Overview

  • The Queensland Reds were beaten 46-24 by the Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday, ending their Super Rugby Pacific season and drawing a close to Les Kiss’s three-year Reds tenure.
  • Kiss will move to the Wallabies role by shadowing current coach Joe Schmidt for the three Nations Championship Tests in July before assuming full control afterwards.
  • Former Scotland and Fiji coach Vern Cotter is set to replace Kiss as Reds head coach, filling the vacancy left by the departure.
  • The Reds and the ACT Brumbies both lost their quarter-finals this weekend, leaving no Australian teams in the Super Rugby semi-finals for the first time in nine years of a full competition.
  • Australian attention now turns to the inaugural Nations Championship in July, with selectors likely to target in-form Reds players such as skipper Fraser McReight as they prepare for Tests against Ireland, France and Italy.