Queensland Reds 2025

[Dctarget]

O'Gara wants that Irish job right? Seems a slightly odd character but I wonder what his thoughts on the Wallabies job are.... It's better than Wales.

I was thinking about O'Gara. I don't know if his credentials are good enough, I'd like him to have international experience first. I know he's won twice with La Rochelle but he's never won the Top 14 nor has he managed extended success recently. If we're going for a hot head, I'd rather a proven one like Cheika tbh.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Don't need to commandeer the Reds thread but with Kiss a main player here it remains just ok.

Who are candidates with international experience that would/could be available and desirable. I don't think we want anyone who is a discard of a Tier 1. I don't want a guy like Gatland, Joseph...

RA just published an ambitious 5 year plan that should be applauded for aggressive ambition and it should indicate that we want top line coaches and not just settle. I personally think winning the level of titles O'Gara has so far is equivalent to that of international experience. Big squads, big names, money and pressure.

 

[Wilson]

Don't need to commandeer the Reds thread but with Kiss a main player here it remains just ok.

Who are candidates with international experience that would/could be available and desirable. I don't think we want anyone who is a discard of a Tier 1. I don't want a guy like Gatland, Joseph...

RA just published an ambitious 5 year plan that should be applauded for aggressive ambition and it should indicate that we want top line coaches and not just settle. I personally think winning the level of titles O'Gara has so far is equivalent to that of international experience. Big squads, big names, money and pressure.

This is a false equivalence that comes up a bit. It's absolutely good experience and a useful indicator of coaching quality, but representative coaching is very different to club coaching in terms of time scales, goals, recruitment, development and selection. So often first time international coaches without much experience at that level fall into the same trap. Ideally (for a tier 1 country) you want first time international head coaches to have had a decent stint either as a tier 1 assistant or tier 2 head coach.

This is well and truly off topic at this point though and should all go to the Wallabies 2025 thread where there's already a bit of coaching chat.

 

[KentwellCup>ShuteShield]

Early crow but I think Kiss is the future.

This season will be the one to see if hes up to scratch. Reds will need to make a semi-final, nothing more nothing less.

 

[Ignoto]

more transitional under Joe's direction with Kiss still in charge of the Reds in a dual role for 2026 (I don't really like dual roles, but it is still an option). With Cordingley also the one who manages the contracts, there will be a lot of continuity whatever happens.

No joke, I really thought what the Reds tried with Ewen and Graham back in 2012 (or was it 13/14 ?) with Link transitioning to a Director of Rugby with Graham doing the coaching was the way of the future.

Obviously we saw Graham wasn't able to get the best out of the team, but I still like this idea of having a senior DoR for a Super Rugby coaching team to lean on.

I could see this being something used if Les does get involved with the Wallabies and Zane taking the helm. Just makes so much sense from a transition point of view and gives our HC's a fighting chance to grow and develop whilst also having some safety blankets around.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

I think the transition is good but Graham was wrong. This is going to happen on some hires.

It also relies on the departing HC to want the move and have a healthy respect for the incoming coach or they will shadow coach and no doubt cause internal distractions at any sign of things not going well. Link seems like a good fit for it but someone like Cheika for example would not.

 

[Adam84]

Well Larkham and McKellar have more successful records with none of them including Kiss having any major trophies to their names as a HC.

Good on RA for doing this stuff, stupid if they weren't. I hope Schmidt can work something out even if it was extended leave periods if he can have a team he trusts and a playing group he believes in which I think he does.

O'Gara wants that Irish job right? Seems a slightly odd character but I wonder what his thoughts on the Wallabies job are.... It's better than Wales.

McKellar has taken Tahs from woeful to pre-season champs in quick time, he is the best choice!

 

[Sully]

McKellar has taken Tahs from woeful to pre-season champs in quick time, he is the best choice!

I mean, the Tahs have never ever been pre season champs before.

 

[liquor box]

I wonder if as a rugby nation we are better of with -
1- A great Wallabies Coach and average Super Rugby Coaches, or
2 - Great Super Rugby Coaches and an average Wallabies Coach?

I think trying to have all Super Rugby franchises have coaches at the level of Kiss should be the priority, it produces the players that make the Wallabies and should make national coaching better.

As this is a Reds forum, I must say I will be pretty pissed off if we lose Kiss within the next few years, it should not be too much to expect a coach to give 5 years to their job to prove themselves and then go on to higher duties if they prove themselves.

 

[dru]

No slight on Les but big downgrade if we lose Schmidt.

Yep. So just leave the bloke alone. If and when Kiss pulls it together in the Super Pacific, after the way that Link was handled, I still don't want Les to leave Qld.

 

[Adam84]

Eddie will probably be sacked by Japan by then, bring him back

 

[Strewthcobber]

I saw a stat once that was along the lines of 90% of coaches who won a major title, do it within two years of taking over a team.

I think Jamie Joseph at the Highlanders was one of the few exceptions.

Does that mean you should rotate every two years, or let a good coach play out, and replace them at a natural time for someone else's glory?

Someone on the big bucks gets to decide that

 

[Adam84]

I saw a stat once that was along the lines of 90% of coaches who won a major title, do it within two years of taking over a team.

I think Jamie Joseph at the Highlanders was one of the few exceptions.

Does that mean you should rotate every two years, or let a good coach play out, and replace them at a natural time for someone else's glory?

Someone on the big bucks gets to decide that

I dont know what sport/competition that stat is from..

But looking at the successful sporting teams in Australia, or even the grand finalists from AFL/NRL GF in 2024 and their tenure as head coach paints a different picture;

- Panthers/Cleary: 6 years (2nd stint, 9 years total)
- Storm/Bellamy: 21 years
- Lions/Fagan: 8 years
- Swans/Longmire: 13 years

 

[noknowledgeatall]

Eddie will probably be sacked by Japan by then, bring him back

PROBABLY ??? Dont think you could get good enough odds to lay a bet on that one.

 

[Major Tom]

I saw a stat once that was along the lines of 90% of coaches who won a major title, do it within two years of taking over a team.

I think Jamie Joseph at the Highlanders was one of the few exceptions.

Does that mean you should rotate every two years, or let a good coach play out, and replace them at a natural time for someone else's glory?

Someone on the big bucks gets to decide that

Similar stat in the AFL. Except Chris Fagan just bucked that trend too.

 

[Strewthcobber]

I dont know what sport/competition that stat is from..

But looking at the successful sporting teams in Australia, or even the grand finalists from AFL/NRL GF in 2024 and their tenure as head coach paints a different picture;

- Panthers/Cleary: 6 years (2nd stint, 9 years total)
- Storm/Bellamy: 21 years
- Lions/Fagan: 8 years
- Swans/Longmire: 13 years

Rugby, where it's rare to get a second stint at things

 

[Wilson]

I saw a stat once that was along the lines of 90% of coaches who won a major title, do it within two years of taking over a team.

I think Jamie Joseph at the Highlanders was one of the few exceptions.

Does that mean you should rotate every two years, or let a good coach play out, and replace them at a natural time for someone else's glory?

Someone on the big bucks gets to decide that

What percentage of coaches are moving on (or being moved on) after 2-3 years? Feels like it might be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point.

Also need to look at what came before them and what environment they walked into - e.g. if not for the good work of Phil Mooney, Ewen McKenzie probably doesn't win the title in 2011.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

McKellar has taken Tahs from woeful to pre-season champs in quick time, he is the best choice!

Should put "Woeful back-back-back pre-season champs" on the members lanyard tbh.

Hypothetical here but what IF he got the Tahs from stone motherless last to say 5th or 6th? Now I don't see that happening this season but it would make coaching considerations harder. You then have Larkham maintaining a steady regime with close playing ties to Waugh and Herbert...

 

[noknowledgeatall]

I saw a stat once that was along the lines of 90% of coaches who won a major title, do it within two years of taking over a team.

I think Jamie Joseph at the Highlanders was one of the few exceptions.

Does that mean you should rotate every two years, or let a good coach play out, and replace them at a natural time for someone else's glory?

Someone on the big bucks gets to decide that

Maybe they win shortly after appointment because the powers are happy to "spend like drunken sailors" to recruit mercenaries.

Generally, we see all the froth and bubbles and fizz but don't get repeated high performance (look at Canterbury Crusaders).

For mine I would take a Bob Templeton or Knuckles Connolly over some of the foreign hired guns any day.

 

[Ignoto]

Rugby, where it's rare to get a second stint at things

Looking back at the previous Reds coaches, we've only had 2 guys who haven't been given a second season; https://www.rugbydatabase.co.nz/team/coachList.php?teamId=25

Slack and Jones (from memory, Matt O'Connor was only an interim appointment?).

The only one you could say who was hard done by was Phil Mooney. He was a large reason why we won the 2011 competition.

The rest were persisted with an ultimately, moved on when there was no improvement in that second season.