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Super Rugby champion Rob Simmons says he’s ecstatic Les Kiss is taking over his former side, believing the former State of Origin winger turned rugby coach is the perfect figure to take over from Brad Thorn at the Queensland Reds.
“I’ve been watching from afar and keeping an eye on the Reds since I’ve left, and I can see that they’ve been transformed into professionals, everyone knows how to get themselves ready for a game and have a good basic skill set, and someone like ‘Kissy’ will be good for their development,” Simmons, who spent the previous three seasons under Kiss at London Irish, told The Roar.
“He will get everyone to start thinking of the game at a higher level and how to attack and look at other teams strengths and weaknesses.
“That’s why I think it’s such a good appointment.”
Kiss will be unveiled as Thorn’s replacement at the Reds on Thursday, almost a fortnight after it was revealed that the 58-year-old had agreed to terms to coach the Super Rugby side.
His appointment brings months of speculation over Thorn’s replacement, with the dual international and former All Blacks World Cup-winner stepping down at the Reds after six years in charge.
Les Kiss celebrating a win with London Irish. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Thorn was thrust into the role in 2018, as the Reds board opted to brutally farewell Nick Stiles and catapult Thorn into the role despite the former forward’s rapid rise into coaching.
The former Brisbane Broncos premiership-winner and Crusaders and All Blacks champion was an instrument of change at the Reds, shunning Quade Cooper and later farewelling James Slipper and Karmichael Hunt.
The cultural change Thorn ushered through didn’t necessarily translate into sustained success at the Reds, with the high being the Reds’ Super Rugby AU triumph in front of 42,000 at Suncorp Stadium in 2021.
But back-to-back quarter-final exits in Super Rugby Pacific over the past two years, which followed underwhelming seasons and a steady departure of seasoned players and stars like Taniela Tupou, meant the pressure firmly turned on Thorn.
In April, the dual-international, who said he was “institutionalised” in rugby over two decades and compared his career to the prisoners out of Shawshank Redemption, stood down and added he would take a “breath” before deciding on his future.
Brad Thorn has called time on his six-year tenure with the Reds. (Photo by Jono Searle/Getty Images)
After a global search, which included looking at New Zealanders Brad Mooar and Vern Cotter as well as veteran English coach Steve Diamond and dozens of local candidates, the Reds settled on Kiss, who has spent two decades in coaching having worked with the Springboks, Ireland, the Waratahs, Ulster and London Irish.
It’s a decision that has been applauded right across the national landscape.
Two characteristics stood out from The Roar’s interviews with several former Wallabies: Kiss’ detailed nature and his ability to connect with people.
“Kissy will be great for the Reds,” said former Wallabies halfback Nick Phipps, who spent three seasons under the experienced coach at London Irish.
“He’s passionate about running a program from the bottom to the top. At London Irish, he was coaching the academy coaches, he was heavily involved in individual skills and coaches, he went all the way to the top and was always in contact with the board – which is exactly what the Reds need.
“He hasn’t been in the Australian system for a long time, so his loyalties aren’t tied to anyone and he’ll be the fresh face they need and pay attention to the respective club competitions.
“He’ll be fantastic for the Reds, which is what’s needed because a strong Reds generally means a strong Australian rugby.
“There’s certainly some players who have underperformed and they’ll be better off for him coming on in and fulfil their potential.”
Ollie Hoskins (L) says he was impressed by Les Kiss’ technical prowess and his ability to bring a team together. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Ollie Hoskins, who made his debut for the Wallabies in 2021 and spent several years under Kiss, also backed the former Origin winger’s appointment.
“Kissy is a great man. I hold him in very high regard,” Hoskins said.
“As a coach, the one thing that sticks out is the passion for his work. Every time he takes a beating, every time we’re out on the pitch, you can see how invested he is in the success of the team.
“Half the time we’re doing any sort of drill or contact, he’d be throwing his shoulders about as if he was involved in the drill.
“In terms of technical stuff, he did Ireland’s defence and, for us, he did our attack at London Irish and our attack was one of the best in the Premiership, especially last year.
“We were carving teams up and our shape was really fun to play in and our brand of rugby was awesome. If he adopts a similar style with the Reds, then I can imagine it’ll be fun to watch and yield results.
“It took a couple of years to get into the swing of his attack shape, but it really clicked last season and we were a bee’s dick from making the finals.”
Les Kiss spent six years with Ireland and went to two World Cups with the national union. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Lote Tuqiri said Kiss was a “great fit” for the franchise.
“He’s a quirky bloke,” Lote Tuqiri said.
“He’s an easy bloke to get along with. He doesn’t leave a stone unturned. My recollections are of Kissy being a bloke who was really thorough. That quirkiness probably leads to him doing everything thoroughly.
“He can have a joke. From what I remember, he’s not a bloke who takes himself too seriously. A lot of blokes these days are really, really forthright about doing their job, being a bit too seriously.
“People think he’s a rugby league winger, but he’s spent more time around rugby union that he knows it inside out.”
It’s a point Matt Dunning thought when he first arrived at the Waratahs in 2002.
“I was a bit apprehensive because he’s a league ex-winger, so you don’t always expect him to be synonymous with defence,” Dunning said.
“But he was a really good coach, personable, gets on with his players very well. Detailed. Someone who you want to play for.
“He was very into helping people. I did a lot of one-on-one defence with him. He’d watch you and skip and bounce around with you almost like he was tackling the guy himself. It was very funny.
“The stereotype for a league coach would be a bit rough but it’s quite the opposite with Les. He’s quite well-thought and intelligent. He’s a really good communicator and quite articulate and has a much more extensive vocabulary than me. I really enjoyed being part of a team he was a part of.”
Matt Dunning (L) is watched by Waratahs defence coach Les Kiss during a training session at Aussie Stadium May 24, 2005 in Sydney. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Stephen Hoiles remembers Kiss fondly.
“I always had a lot of time for him,” Hoiles said.
“We had some successful years, lost a final, he was a good coach, well respected.
“It’s bizarre seeing how long he’s been overseas for considering we’ve gone through so many coaches during that time, but I’m glad he’s back.”
Hoiles remembered the confidence he gave him after second guessing himself after another coach’s critique.
“I was too young to know any different, so I couldn’t tell you what defence it was, but I remember it being clear. That’s a big thing,” Hoiles said.
“I had one other coach there at the time and I knew he didn’t like me because he liked bash and barge forwards and I was a footwork guy. I had a meeting with him. I had a jump step and he was trying to take that out of my game. I felt that was a bit weird because it was working for me.
“Kissy overheard that and said, ‘I don’t want to get in-between messages, but just do what feels natural to you and what’s working for you.’ I was like, that’s good. I really needed to hear it. He recognised that the other messages got in my head.”
Cameron Shepherd, who played under Kiss when he first arrived at the Waratahs, described the former winger as “one of the most lovely humans” he’s met and a very good coach.
Eddie Jones (R) talks to former London Irish head coach Les Kiss during an England training session held at Pennyhill Park on February 20, 2019 in Bagshot. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Shepherd tells the story of a Waratahs teammate losing a card game and having been forced to annoy Kiss on a tour of Argentina in 2005.
“On this one occasion, someone lost and the punishment was you had to go and spend the day annoying Kissy and asking him probing questions and sitting next to him on every bus trip,” Shepherd recalled.
“Kissy was so nice that he let this go on for three-quarters of the day before he finally turned and was like, ‘Why are you doing this?’ He finally broke him. But he was so nice. Every time I think of Les Kiss, I think of that moment because he’s such a lovely guy. He always had time for you. He was very interested in who you are as a person, not just a rugby person.”
Shepherd said he thought Kiss would have the unique ability to connect with people across the entire team and thought his style of coaching was built for the modern day player.
“I think he’s going to bring a very human element to coaching that team,” Shepherd said.
“I truly don’t believe that being Darth Vader and getting everyone to live in fear is the way to get the best out of them. I think you’ve got to connect to your players and Kissy will do that.”
Simmons agreed: “He’s one of the best people I’ve met. In the first six months with him I almost felt like he was too nice. I was like, can you just do something wrong so I have something on you. He’d always ask about my family. He didn’t have to but he’d always ask questions and check up on you. At events, he’d always go up and say hello to my wife and kids and I wouldn’t even be next to them. He had a great on and off switch.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.