Reds coach reacts to former All Black’s standout debut against Lions

It didn’t take Aidan Ross long to impress Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss, with the former All Blacks prop made a compelling case for Wallabies selection by standing out on club debut against the British & Irish Lions on Wednesday.

Ross’s debut for the Reds marked an eventful couple of weeks for the front-rower, who came off the bench for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific Final in Christchurch, which the Crusaders won by a hard-earned four-point margin.

After more than 100 matches in Chiefs colours, Ross didn’t get a fairytale finish in that thrilling decider, but the dawn of a new era awaited. Ross had already put pen to paper on a deal with the Reds until the end of 2027, and it’s a move which could potentially benefit the Wallabies.

Jasper Wiese explains his rapid return after neck surgery

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Australia-born Ross will officially become eligible for the national side on July 10, three years on from the now 29-year-old’s last Test in an All Blacks jersey. With the Lions Series coming up, Ross may have given coach Joe Schmidt something to think about this week.

Ross won multiple scrum penalties during the first half against the Lions, and the loosehead also finished with the fourth-most number of carries out of any Reds player by half-time. Coach Kiss was asked about the Reds recruit’s performance, which the coach wasn’t surprised by.

“He was exactly what we thought he’d be to tell you the truth,” Kiss told reporters after Queensland’s 52-12 loss to the Lions in Brisbane.

“With him, with [Matt Faessler], his first game back into scrums, I thought was really good. And Jeffrey on the other side, Jeffrey had been covering our loosehead for a lot of the second part of the year and went back to tighthead and I thought he did a great job there as well.

“We certainly had some good locks behind him as well, just to hold and stabilise that scrum, but I thought James saw them the way they were and I thought they’re the correct decisions.

“But other parts of the game, they certainly gained the traction that they needed to, that’s for sure, particularly the carry on our line. It was difficult to keep them out.”

With Queensland getting some ascendency at scrum time, they troubled the Lions during the first term, with prop Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen and centre Josh Flook scoring a try each. But the Lions still outscored the hosts three tries to two during that 40-minute period.

It was one-way traffic after the break as the Lions ran riot, with the touring side piling on 31-unanswered points during the second half. Maro Itoje, Jac Morgan, Freeman, Huw Jones and Gary Ringrose all helped extend the visitors’ lead even further.

“We certainly put on the table what we wanted to early, that’s for sure,” Kiss reflected

“When we got that traction and a bit of momentum and we stretched them and bent them around the edges a few times, I thought there was some quality that came through. We just couldn’t keep it going I guess.

“A couple of momentum swings, a couple of easy access to our end, and once they’re on your own line they’re a difficult team to hold out.

“Their power comes through gradually and consistently and it’s not just singles, it’s in twos and threes that hurt you and that probably gave them the momentum to get the type of score they got.”