Kiss confirmed as AUNZ coach; Kefu to lead Indigenous-Pasifika team
Les Kiss will take charge of the Australia-New Zealand Invitational team that will take on the British & Irish Lions in Adelaide a week out from the first Test with the Wallabies, the Queenslander linking with Ian Foster after the former All Blacks coach was already announced as part of the wider staff.
Kiss’ confirmation as the AU-NZ coach had been forecast before he was unveiled as the Wallabies-coach elect, before confirmation arrived early on Monday afternoon alongside the news that Wallabies great Toutai Kefu would take charge of the First Nations-Pacific Islands team that will face the tourists between the first and second Tests.
Kiss and Foster will now set about finalising a wider squad of around 25 players, which could yet include All Blacks Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith and Brodie Retallick, and Wallabies Matt Phillip and Samu Kerevi, as well as other Australian players who might be on the fringes of Joe Schmidt‘s Wallabies squad.
“It’s a privilege to be able to lead the coaching group for the combined AUNZ Invitational XV,” Kiss said via a media release.
“The British & Irish Lions are one of world sport’s most renowned teams and to be able to play them at an iconic Australian venue such as the Adelaide Oval will be an incredible spectacle.
“I’m looking forward to working with a coach like Ian who has wide-ranging experience at the highest level of the game and linking up with the wider management in due course.”
It means that Kiss will get not one but two opportunities to coach against the Lions, given the Reds face Andy Farrell‘s squad in the second game of their tour Down Under. Both assignments will be invaluable experience for when he succeeds Schmidt in the middle of 2026.
Kefu, meanwhile, will have a raft of options to consider, with First Nations backs Kurtley Beale, Andy Muirhead and Harrison Goddard all likely options, while Leafi Talataina, Feao Fotuaika and Sef Fa’agase all set to be considered up front. Kefu may also bolster his squad by looking to both the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika franchises for playing talent.
“I feel honoured to be named Head Coach of the first ever First Nations & Pasifika XV,” Kefu said via the same Rugby Australia media release.
“First Nations and Pasifika people contribute massively to the game all around the world and the significance of this game in celebrating those ongoing contributions can’t be overstated, especially against a team with the history of the British & Irish Lions.
“I’m looking forward to getting together as a group in July and representing our people with a strong performance at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium.”
The Lions had originally been set to face Melbourne Rebels after the first Test in Perth, but when that franchise was wound up because of crippling financial mismanagement, an alternative had to be found.
RA has recently honoured the Indigenous contribution to the game in Australia through the introduction of an Indigenous Wallabies jersey, but the combined concept is the first of its kind for the game Down Under.
Source: espn.com