In 1986, around the time 21-year-old Les Kiss was making his mark on the rugby league world by breaking for the North Sydney Bears, Queensland Origin side and Australia over a five-month period, the Breakfast Creek Gang was crafting its legend as “a diverse, but consistent, consistent, uniformed legal. brokers, bookies, outlaws and party identities.” Employees.”
Forty years on, and Kiss, the incoming Wallabies coach, is a proud member of the infamous Rebels now trading as the Breakfast Creek Athletic Club. “A very inspiring, talented, connected, down-to-earth team,” he tells the Guardian. “Once a week we meet for a run or a walk, coffee and a chat, maybe dinner and a few beers. We all have more problems than we admit … but for me it’s a healthy place after so long.”
Kiss’s challenge is bigger than most: to bring Australian rugby back to the top of the world. When he takes over in July, he has 14 months and 19 Tests before the World Cup on home soil. Kiss says: “I will not be a great agent of change. “It is not a revolution, it is development. The right things, the big rocks, will always be there. The key themes – discipline, accountability, planning – will remain the same. ”
But Kiss is something special. When he started, he was in a “league” that he had never played in before. “It meant I had to find the ropes,” says Kiss. ”I learned that it’s a players game and the dressing room is the heartbeat of every team. Find the right positions, create an environment that allows everyone to be their best, and 80 minutes of game time takes care of itself. I’m not a copy-and-paste coach. I’m a big believer in values being put together.”
Kiss’ values were shaped by his parents fleeing the Hungarian Revolution to settle in Bundaberg in the 1950s, and his rapid rise as a flying winger in the 80s. “Everything came together and everything happened at the speed of knots,” he says of his glory days. When you play soccer well, all you can do is ride the wave and enjoy it.
The end of his playing career in the league involved a disappointing move to the coaching staff. “Being sidelined because of the injury made my mind stronger,” Kiss says. At the time I was doing my best, selling poker machines for the Leagues team while coaching the Norths juniors. I could have ended up a fat, divorced alcoholic traveling the world selling pokies or living in Vegas.”
Instead, Kiss’s remarkable rise to the Australian rugby career happened by stealth.
By the time Kiss returned home to coach the Queensland Reds in 2024, he closed the book on the best 20-year spell overseas, first as defense coach with the Springboks in 2001-02, then as Ireland’s assistant coach in 2009-15 and three years as captain of Ulster Rugby, the last five with London in London.
“All I’ve ever been is a footballer and a coach,” Kiss says, smiling under his pencil moustache. “There are many problems, but that’s life. It’s strange, but also fun. Maybe it’s not the right way, but that’s how I did it. Family is very important to me and every team I work with is family.
“Coaching is about connection and relationships, building something stronger together. It’s not a job I’ve ever given up. invested.”
For now, with three Tests in July, the manager is still Joe Schmidt, New Zealand’s best coach who has wound up the Wallabies after a disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign, whose close friendship and coaching alchemy with Kiss ensures a smooth transition.
“We coached about 40 tests and had a great relationship,” Kiss says.
The Kiss Army is already underway. Scott McLeod, a member of the All Blacks staff at the last two Rugby World Cups, recently joined his trust as defense coach, while analyst Eoin Toolan and game coach Tom Donnelly continue in their roles. Scrum guru Mike Cron and assistant Laurie Fisher will remain as advisors. Kiss also singled out the skills of svengali Mick Byrne and U20s boss Chris Whitaker for praise.
Despite “new tabs coming up”, Kiss is “100% dedicated to the Reds – there’s no way I’m going to let these guys down”. His reign has inspired the most tries for Queensland in 30 years of Super Rugby, back-to-back quarter-finals and a record majority. In 2026, they are 4-2 and looking to lock down a top four spot against the Force this Saturday. And as a former player, Kiss welcomes the return of Dylan Pietsch, NRL debutant Zac Lomax for Army and 18-year-old Reds striker Treyvan Pritachard.
These planes, along with Mark Nawaqanitawase and Max Jorgensen, are shaped like the wind under the wings of Kiss for the World Cup. “There is a unique Australian way of playing,” he says.
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