Les Kiss

Les Kiss is the head coach of Australia, a former rugby league Test winger who built his reputation as the defence coach behind Ireland’s 2009 Grand Slam.

Les Kiss is the head coach of Australia, having taken over from Joe Schmidt after a long and unusual route to the job. Born in Bundaberg in December 1964, he never played professional rugby union at all.

His playing career was in league — a winger for the North Sydney Bears from 1986 to 1993, four State of Origin appearances for Queensland and four Tests for Australia. He crossed codes as a coach, and it is defence that made his name.

Ireland, Ulster and London Irish

Kiss was Ireland’s defence coach from 2008, the central technical figure behind the 2009 Grand Slam and Championship wins in 2014 and 2015, and briefly served as interim head coach. He moved to Ulster as Director of Rugby in 2015, then to London Irish, winning the RFU Championship and promotion in 2019. He returned to Australia to coach the Queensland Reds in 2023 and was confirmed as Wallabies head coach to succeed Schmidt.

Style

His teams are built from the defensive line outward — organised, aggressive off the line, and drilled to force turnovers rather than simply absorb pressure. He is regarded as one of the game’s better man-managers, and the Wallabies job is the first time in a long career that he has been the front man at Test level rather than the specialist beside it.

As a player A rugby league winger, not a union player. North Sydney Bears from 1986 to 1993, four State of Origin games for Queensland and four Tests for Australia.