Schmidt to stay on as Wallabies coach until 2026 as part of Kiss handover

Joe Schmidt will stay on as Wallabies coach until the middle of 2026 as part of a coaching transition that will see Reds coach Les Kiss only step up at the end of next year’s Super Rugby competition.

The drawn-out appointment of Kiss as the man to succeed Schmidt as the next Wallabies coach was finally confirmed on Wednesday, with the Queensland coach becoming the fifth man to hold the role in seven years.

As part of a complex handover plan, Kiss won’t begin the role until the third year of his contract with the QRU expires in July 2026.

Schmidt, who announced in February he will depart after the Rugby Championship in October, has agreed to stay on a further eight months and will oversee the Wallabies’ 2025 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. It is the second time Schmidt has extended his time as Wallabies coach, after he initially signed a contract which expired after the British and Irish Lions tour in August this year.

Joe Schmidt will stay on as Wallabies head coach through to mid-2026.Credit: Getty Images

By agreeing to remain with the Wallabies until Kiss is finished with Queensland, Schmidt will stay for almost a full extra year - and the deal also strengthens the chances he’ll remain involved in some capacity, given the 2027 Rugby World Cup is then only 15 months away.

“My intention to finish at the end of this year’s Rugby Championship has been adjusted to fit with Les’s availability,” Schmidt said in a statement. “I think he’s doing a great job with the Reds, so it was important to dovetail with his responsibilities there.

“It has certainly been a privilege to be involved with the Wallabies - the staff and players have worked hard but we all know there’s a lot more hard work ahead of us with the British and Irish Lions here in a few months’ time.

“For my family, the extension until the end of next July means that they will spend more time with me in Sydney so we will hopefully find a good balance.“

Kiss and Schmidt will front a media conference on Sydney on Wednesday morning, before the former joins the Reds in Fiji ahead of their game against the Drua on Saturday.

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.

Les Kiss, former North Sydney Bear turned union coachCredit: Illustration: Jamie Brown

During the recruitment and negotiation periods, Rugby Australia was at pains to highlight the need for continuity during the coaching change, and to cause a minimum disruption to the Super Rugby team that would lose their coach.

“We’re looking at the whole ecosystem,” Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh said earlier this month.

“Historically, we’ve talked about a Wallabies head coach and that takes the attention away from assistant coaches and what’s happening within the Super Rugby environment.

“We’re focusing on how to get the best possible coaches in the Super Rugby environment because if you can’t win at the Super Rugby level, you can’t win Test matches.

“We’re confident we’ll get the balance right between shared services or resources, and ensuring we’ve got the world’s best coaches leading the international program.”

Kiss is well-known in Australia as a former State of Origin and Kangaroos rugby league winger, who played 100 games for the North Sydney Bears in the 1980s and 1990s.

Les Kiss and Joe Schmidt with Ireland in 2015.Credit: Getty

But after a short career in rugby league coaching post-retirement, Kiss began working in rugby union as a defence coach with the Springboks in 2001.

It began a 25-year career in rugby coaching, which has seen Kiss coach at some of the biggest teams in the world. He worked as defence coach for the Waratahs before moving to Ireland, where he was a member of the coaching staff for the Ireland national side between 2009 and 2015, including with Schmidt.

Kiss always aspired to become a head coach in rugby, however, and after a successful interim stint coaching Ireland between the Declan Kidney and Schmidt eras, the Australian was appointed as director of rugby at Irish province Ulster.

Kiss later moved to England and became head coach of London Irish, where he continued to coach against the best teams in Europe until the club went belly-up in 2023.

Kiss has amply proved his coaching credentials at the Reds, finishing fifth last year and having the team well-positioned in fourth spot this season.

“It’s an incredibly exciting time for Australian Rugby and I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as Wallabies Head Coach from next year,” Kiss said. “Joe and I have a strong relationship and a long history of working together, and I am looking forward to building upon the excellent foundations he has laid with the Wallabies.

“I am thrilled to continue with the Reds for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season before transitioning into the Wallabies environment. To coach our national team through such an important period, highlighted by a home Rugby World Cup in 2027, is the honour of a lifetime and an opportunity I am truly grateful for.

“I look forward to contributing to the continued growth of Australian Rugby.”

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