Ex-captain urges Australia to act fast over 'obvious' Schmidt successor

Andrew Slack has encouraged Rugby Australia to get the Les Kiss deal done, describing his ascension to Wallabies coach as the “obvious step”.

Kiss is contracted at Ballymore until next year – the sticking point in any deal to replace Joe Schmidt later this year that could be overcome as soon as this week.

The Queensland Rugby Union have requested compensation should Kiss leave his Ballymore post early, and explored the possibility of him serving both roles next year until his Reds contract expires.

It’s understood Kiss, a former Queensland and Australian rugby league representative winger, is reluctant to split his time between jobs ahead of a 2027 World Cup on home soil.

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Former Wallabies centre Slack, the thoughtful captain behind the side’s dominant 1984 Grand Slam tour of Europe and 1986 Bledisloe Cup triumph at Eden Park, is wondering what’s taking them so long.

“It seems pretty straightforward, but I’ve been around long enough to know nothing is,” he told AAP.

“It’s the obvious step.”

Slack was among a panel that reviewed the Wallabies’ disastrous 2023 season that included an historic World Cup group-stage exit and the short-lived second-coming of coach Eddie Jones.

He said one thing was obvious after sifting through the ashes.

“There was definitely the feeling we needed to get common sense back into the arrangement and Joe has brought common sense to the Wallabies and Les the same at Ballymore,” he said.

“You’re not going from a leg-spinner to a fast bowler, sort of thing.

“Every coach has an element of rant and rave but there’s a calmness to Joe that I think is what was needed.

“And calm doesn’t always mean soft and lovey-dovey. I’m sure he gets stuck into them.

“That calmness, I think, is a necessity for guys in the Australian environment to work at their best.

“Both men have been what rugby’s needed after 2023, when it was on the nose.”

The Reds led the Super Rugby ladder for the first time in 13 years earlier this month but enter Friday’s Anzac Day clash with defending champions the Blues in fourth place and looking to avoid a third-straight loss.

Injuries have mounted and the dragged-out nature of the coaching vacancy has become a weekly talking point at Reds headquarters.

The QRU pounced on Kiss in 2023 when financial issues at London Irish left him suddenly out of a job after two decades of coaching in Europe.

There is an expectation he will take staff with him to the national set-up, meaning the Reds’ recruitment team will need to move fast if Kiss does agree to terms.

But Slack is confident there will be no repeat of 2013, when Ewan McKenzie left for the Test job and the Reds – Super Rugby champions in 2011 – slowly fell away.

“I like to sidestep commercial discussions but part of the common sense (in the review) was that the success of the Wallabies was the most important thing,” Slack said.

“Even if someone takes a temporary hit to make it happen, that hit will be eased due to Wallabies’ success flowing down.”