Les Kiss Discusses Wallabies Aspirations Following Vital Victory

Les Kiss may have hastened his chances of becoming the next Wallabies coach after guiding the Queensland Reds to a commanding 35-15 triumph over the NSW Waratahs.

This victory granted the Reds the prestigious Bob Templeton Cup for the 21st time on Saturday night, giving them bragging rights, while the Tahs have secured it 20 times since its inception in 2000.

The loss also terminated NSW’s unbeaten streak in the Super Rugby Pacific, allowing the Reds to leapfrog them into third place on the standings.

The former Queensland and Kangaroos league winger, Kiss, has been widely regarded as the frontrunner to take over from Joe Schmidt as Wallabies head coach once the New Zealander resigns following the conclusion of the Rugby Championship in October.

Kiss and Schmidt have enjoyed a successful working relationship with Ireland, and it is highly likely they will reunite again under Rugby Australia.

While Schmidt is returning to New Zealand for personal reasons, he has expressed a willingness to remain in an advisory capacity if his successor wishes.

Other candidates include Dan McKellar (Waratahs), Stephen Larkham (Brumbies) and Jamie Joseph (Highlanders), though Joseph has publicly distanced himself from the position.

Reports suggest that McKellar, a former Wallabies assistant, has not yet been formally interviewed for the role.

The selection committee comprises director of high performance Peter Horne, chief executive Phil Waugh, chairman Dan Herbert, and Rugby Australia board member John Eales.

NEW PODCAST! The team discusses the implications of Nick Phipps’ controversial comments regarding the longstanding north vs south debate.

“I’m aware they are speaking with various candidates, but I’m just concentrating on the present,” Kiss mentioned on Stan Sport following the victory.

“My focus is on my conversations with both Rugby Australia and the Reds.”

“Beyond that, there’s not much else to say. I’m purely focused on steering this team alongside my coaches and performance staff.”

After facing a heavy 43-19 defeat against the Crusaders the previous week, losing to the Waratahs would have posed a significant challenge for Rugby Australia if Kiss were to be named as the new national team coach.

“We didn’t let ourselves spiral after the loss to the Crusaders,” Kiss stated. “One bad game wasn’t going to derail us.”

“It was crucial for us to make adjustments, which we successfully executed. I thought it was an excellent match overall.”

“They attacked us early and scored quickly, forcing us to steady ourselves. While we were a bit disorganised at first, we hung in there. I thought it was a fantastic game.”

“We aim to adapt our style, but our foundation must be toughness and dominance upfront.”

For Waratahs captain Hugh Sinclair, filling in for the injured Jake Gordon presented its own challenges.

“It was a tough start to captaincy, not enjoyable at all,” Sinclair reflected.

“While we had moments of promise, the superior team won on the night.”

“Perhaps they had distractions from last week (Cyclone Alfred), but they were simply the better side tonight.”

“We fell behind at halftime and couldn’t recover. You can’t allow 35 points and expect to win.”

“We needed to do a better job of holding the ball once we were in their territory.”

McKellar was visibly displeased observing Richie Asiata’s first-half try.

“We had some extremely soft moments that simply aren’t acceptable,” the coach lamented.

“That rolling maul try was embarrassing for everyone involved. We had penalty advantages in decent positions, yet we rushed our plays. We controlled the collisions early on, but took unnecessary risks when we should have calmed down. Those are critical learning experiences for this team.”

REDS 35 (Murray, Wilson, Asiata, McReight, Blyth tries; Lynagh 5 con) WARATAHS 15 (Reilly, Gleeson tries; Creighton pen; Edmed con)