Joe Schmidt will stay on as Wallabies coach for the Spring Tour and until the middle of 2026 as part of a coaching transition that will see Les Kiss only step up at the end of his contract with Queensland next year.
The drawn-out appointment of Kiss as the man to succeed Schmidt as next Wallabies coach will be finally confirmed on Wednesday, with the Queensland coach becoming the fifth man to hold the role in seven years.
But as part of a complex handover plan, Kiss won’t begin the role until July 2026, after the Reds finish up their Super Rugby season.
Schmidt, who announced in February he will depart of the Rugby Championship in October, has agreed to stay on a further eight months, and will oversee the Wallabies’ Spring Tour.
Australia have five matches on their end of year tour, firstly against Japan in Tokyo before fixtures against England, Italy, Ireland and France to round out 2025.
The Kiwi coach will then oversee the Wallabies’ program for the first half of the 2026 season, until Kiss can move into the role.
Kiss has long been regarded as the front-runner to succeed Schmidt, but after a series of interviews earlier in the year, negotiations with Rugby Australia and the Queensland Rugby Union about Kiss’ contractual release dragged on.
The Reds will be thrilled about securing the services of Kiss for the final year of his deal in 2026, meaning RA will not have to provide financial compensation to the Queensland Rugby Union.
Kiss will front a media conference on Sydney on Wednesday morning, before joining the Reds in Fiji ahead of their game against the Drua on Saturday.
Kiss is well-known in Australia as a former State of Origin and Kangaroos winger, who played 100 games for the North Sydney Bears in the 1980s and 1990s.
MORE TO COME
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