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'We've got options': Les Kiss undecided on Reds' best first five-eighth
Les Kiss wants his team to be clinical and courageous and, with that in mind, is tossing up his options at No.10 for the Queensland Reds.
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The new coach has at least four capable five-eighths in his Super Rugby Pacific squad.
Australia veteran James O’Connor is 33 and recovering from a knee injury suffered while playing for the Barbarians in Europe during September’s World Cup.
O’Connor has worked closely with the maturing Tom Lynagh and Lawson Creighton, who have jostled for time in the jersey for the last two years.
Then there’s Junior Wallabies talent Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, who donned the No.10 as a 19-year-old in the Reds’ only game under Kiss – a pre-season clash with Japan’s Panasonic Wild Knights.
“It’s a good question,” Kiss said when asked who would suit up at five-eighth next year.
“We’ve got options, and speaking to all of them they’ve got a particular strength that can come to the fore.
“The style of game, where they have the courage and confidence to back the pictures they see and play footy, will be part of that deal.
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“I’m confident I can lean on the experience of a James right down to the youth of a Harry.
“In between you’ve got Tom Lynagh and Lawson.
“It’s a really good situation to be in. So, who starts? We’ll find out.”
Kiss has replaced Brad Thorn at Ballymore, both men able to boast of State of Origin experience for Queensland’s rugby league team.
Thorn went straight into the Reds job after an unrivalled dual-code career, while former winger Kiss’s first rugby appointment came as an assistant coach with the Springboks in 2001.
“We’re slowly and surely getting to know each other,” Kiss said.
“I see young men who are really hungry to find out how good they can be.
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“I want to make sure they’re as well armed as possible to go out there and have the courage to back themselves.”
The Reds won Super Rugby AU in 2021 and broke a 10-year drought in New Zealand by beating the Chiefs last season, before losing 29-20 to the ladder-leaders in the quarter-finals.
“The foundation Brad and the boys put in place is there … the will to win, drive hard and empty the tank,” Kiss said.
He has recruited in the front row to bolster a squad heavy with back-row and backline talent.
“I’d just like them to pull the trigger, have the confidence to play and knock off their opportunities better and game management overall,” he said.
“You’ve got to be able to skin the cat in many different ways … and still stay true to what we want to do.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments