Rugby Union is often a place full of ‘worst kept secrets’ but the appointment of Vern Cotter as Queensland Reds coach was far from that.
The Blues coach was unveiled on Tuesday to replace Les Kiss at Ballymore after days linking him to the vacant All Blacks job, helped along by another linked candidate - current Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
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The reality was Cotter was well down the process with the Reds, eager for change after delivering success in Auckland.
“The All Black job was a surprise to everybody. Nobody expected Razor to step down from his position,” Cotter admitted to reporters. ”I was already well on track with the Reds and the management and been discussing the possible coaching opportunity with them for three months.
“It was never really a viable option. As Kiwis, we'd love to have coached the All Blacks, but that's not it. I'm really excited about what the Reds are looking to do and improve. I think that's the challenge for me, and I'm not satisfied with where I am as a coach, and I really think that change is growth, and this will be a great opportunity.”
Throughout the process, Cotter turned to his former Clermont and Auckland assistant Schmidt to get a better idea of what to expect at the Reds.
He was left impressed.
“It was important that I speak to someone who knew the players and who had experience with the environment and rugby in Australia…he's got a glowing report of rugby in Australia,” Cotter said of Schmidt.
“It was a great conversation with Joe and he was very complimentary of the playing roster that's there, sees some upward growth within that group of internationals, but also players that will potentially become internationals.
“So it was a reassuring conversation and Joe's a good friend of mine. We're often in contact and have been quite a lot over the years.”
For the Reds, a coach like Cotter was the perfect candidate they could’ve asked for to replace the incoming Wallabies boss Kiss, with international (and winning) experience across club and Test Rugby.
“We set a pretty clear criteria, which was we wanted to attract a world-class coach,” CEO David Hanham said.
“I was a very, very specific criteria and one that drove us to speak to a whole range of different coaches around the world. But ultimately, the person we've got here today, Vern, has delivered that in spades in northern and southern hemisphere Rugby.
“There aren't many that have done that. Consistent success is a big driver, so really, they were the main elements for us.
“It's great that we're able to do that. We're able to get to a point now wher,e before the season started for both the Blues and the Reds, we're able to give absolute clarity of the direction we're going in 2027.”
