Wallabies scrum halves Jake Gordon and Tate McDermott are thrilled with Joe Schmidt and Les Kiss being involved in the national team’s coaching set-up for the future.
Schmidt has extended his stint as coach until mid-2026, where Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss will take over.
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The pair were the main scrum halves used by Schmidt during his first year as head coach.
The Waratahs skipper, in particular, has grown under the former Irish boss, emerging as a mainstay of the Wallabies side.
“I really enjoyed my time with the Wallabies last year, and I really enjoyed my time with Joe. He was really good for my development at test level,” Gordon said.
“I remember my first interaction with Joe was a good one and when I came into camp, he kept it very simple for me. I think the one thing I enjoyed about him, not just his simplicity, but how direct he was with his feedback to me. He's someone who's seen a lot over time.
“His credentials speak for themselves, and when you get in those environments, you just want to soak up all the knowledge you can get.
“He was a guy that I thought had a really good balance between telling you what he expects from you as a player and he's a good bloke off the field as well too.”
McDermott has experience with both coaches, with Kiss backing McDermott as his co-captain in 2024 and 2025 and backed up the suggestion that it would be a seamless transition between the two when the time comes to hand over the duties.
"They're actually pretty similar in the way they see the game, they've both got really good minds in and around how to attack teams, how to break teams apart, both great communicators to the players," McDermott said.
"I'd say Joe's probably a little bit more serious, whereas, Les is a larrikin, but I think the way that they see the game and the way they approach training, the week, the way they approach games are I think very similar.
"I think the transition will be seamless there and they've obviously worked with each other in the past and I'm sure they'll be communicating throughout the whole process.”
Whilst Gordon will leave Kiss to focus on the Reds, he was impressed with his character in his limited interactions with the Reds boss.
“It's an interesting one. You probably haven't seen a transition since ‘Chiek’ (Michael Cheika) did it, but he's probably going to have his hands full with the Reds,” he added.
“He seems like a really nice guy although I've had limited time, especially in a rugby environment with him, but he seems to be doing a really good job with the Reds.”
