Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss confident his tea can find the ‘next solution’ against the Hurricanes

The Queensland Reds are searching for some answers to their dip in form ahead of the Super Rugby Pacific finals series.

Queensland coach Les Kiss says the Reds can ill-afford get “lost in a cul-de-sac of doom” if they are to salvage their Super Rugby Pacific season.

The Reds have slipped to fourth place on the ladder after losing of their past six games.

Another defeat at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, when the Reds host the Hurricanes, will result in the Queenslanders falling further down the table and impact their title chances.

Despite admitting the Reds are “going to have to be better than we have been”, Kiss is far from panicking.

“We’ve been playing out the 80 minutes very strongly,” Kiss said.

“We’re finishing probably stronger than most other teams at the moment, but we’re just not nailing a couple of little things.

“The boys are focused on making sure we can correct that. Yiu can get lost in a cul-de-sac of doom, but these boys, they don’t do that.

“They just want to get on to the next solution. We’ve worked smart and hard.

“You’ve got to be able to juggle the positives, and what you’re frustrated with, and still come out with the type of performance you need.

“We've got some quality stuff happening out there, but we’re very real with ourselves and each other about what we need to keep continuing to work on, and we’ve got another 80 minutes to go to do that.”

Final prep with @Gatorade 🛠️ pic.twitter.com/sGXw3WRbOa

— Queensland Reds (@Reds_Rugby) May 22, 2025

The Reds will welcome back Wallabies skipper and No.8 Harry Wilson, who returns after missing Queensland’s past five matches with a broken arm.

For the fifth-placed Hurricanes, flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi return to the starting side, but have lost back-rower Brayden Iose for the rest of the season with a lower leg injury.

“They’re dangerous across the park,” Kiss said of the Hurricanes.

“They’re a young team like us, they’re prepared to back their skill set, like us, so it’s going to be a fantastic game to watch.”

Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw said his side would need to improve on its last-start performance, despite it being 24-20 win over the Highlanders.

“We were pleased to come away from last week with the win in a tough game against the Highlanders, who obviously pushed us right to the end,” Laidlaw said.

“We feel and know that we need to play much better this week away against the Reds in Brisbane, who are super strong at home and have a lot to play for around the top four,” Laidlaw said.

“We know it will be a massive challenge to go there and try to get the win.”.

Originally published as Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss confident his tea can find the ‘next solution’ against the Hurricanes