In 1986, about the time the 21-year-old Les Kiss was announcing himself to the rugby league world by debuting for the North Sydney Bears, the Queensland Origin side and Australia in the space of five months, the Breakfast Creek Gang was carving out its own legend as “a disparate, yet harmonious, blend of wharfies, coppers, journos, lawyers, car dealers, bookies, small-time criminals and Labor party identities.”

Four decades on and Kiss, the incoming Wallabies coach, is a proud member of the garrulous rabble now trading as the Breakfast Creek Athletic Club. “A very inspiring, talented, connected, grounded group of people,” he tells the Guardian. “Once a week we meet for a run or a walk, coffee and a chat, maybe dinner and a few beers. We’ve probably all got more problems than we admit to … but for me it’s a wellbeing space after so long away.”

Kiss’s problem is bigger than most: returning Australian rugby to the top of the world. When he takes the reins in July, he has 14 months and 19 Tests before the World Cup on home soil. “I’m not going to be a big change agent,” Kiss says. “It’s not a revolution, it’s evolution. The right things, the big rocks, will stay in place. The themes that matter – discipline, accountability, planning – will remain the same.”

But Kiss is an outlier. For starters, he’s a “leaguie” who’s never even played union. “It meant I really had to earn my stripes,” Kiss says. “I’ve learned it’s a player’s game and the locker room is every club’s heartbeat. Get standards right, create an environment which allows everyone to be their best, and the 80 minutes of game time takes care of itself. I’m not a copy-and-paste coach. I’m a big believer in values forged together.”

Kiss’s own values were shaped by his parents who fled the Hungarian Revolution to settle in Bundaberg in the 1950s, and his rapid rise as a flying winger in the 80s. “Everything aligned and it all happened at a rate of knots,” he says of his glory days. “When you’re playing good footy, all you can do is ride the wave and enjoy it. I’m glad I did because I soon got a big dumper which buggered my knee for four years.”

The end of his playing career in league dovetailed perversely into coaching union. “Being sidelined with injury invigorated my mind,” Kiss says. “Something tugged at me, saying ‘dive into this coaching space’. At the time I was in marketing, selling poker machines for the Leagues club while coaching Norths juniors. I could’ve ended up an obese, divorced alcoholic travelling the world selling pokies or living in Vegas.”

Instead, Kiss’s remarkable rise to Australian rugby’s top job happened by stealth.

By the time Kiss returned home to become coach of the Queensland Reds in 2024, it closed the book on the best part of 20 years overseas, firstly as defence coach with the Springboks in 2001-02, then as assistant coach of Ireland in 2009-15 and three years as director of Ulster Rugby, the final five with London Irish in the Premiership.

“All I’ve really been is a footy player and a coach,” Kiss says, smiling under his pencil moustache. “Lots of ups and downs, but that’s life. Bizarre but cool too. Maybe it’s not the right way, but it’s how I’ve done it. Family is massively important to me and every team I work with is a family.

“Coaching is about connection and rapport, building something strong together. It’s not a job I ever really clock off from. I’m invested.”

For now, and three Tests in July, the boss is still Joe Schmidt, the New Zealander mastercoach who has patched the Wallabies wounds after a disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign, and whose close friendship and coaching alchemy with Kiss ensures a smooth transition.

“We’ve coached around 40 Tests together and developed a very good rapport,” Kiss says. “Our learning curve together has been really strong. He helped me understand the breakdown and taught me to put the right things in place for a team to succeed.”

The Kiss army is now taking shape. Scott McLeod, a member of the All Blacks staff at the last two Rugby World Cups, recently joined his brains trust as defence coach, while analyst Eoin Toolan and setpiece coach Tom Donnelly continue in their roles. Scrum guru Mike Cron and assistant Laurie Fisher will stay on as consultants. Kiss also singles out skills svengali Mick Byrne and U20s boss Chris Whitaker for praise.

Despite so many “new tabs popping up”, Kiss is “100% dedicated to the Reds – no way will I let these guys down”. His reign has inspired the most tries for Queensland in 30 years of Super Rugby, consecutive quarter-finals and record crowds. In 2026, they are 4-2 and looking to lock in a top-four spot against the Force this Saturday. And as a former winger, Kiss relishes the return of Dylan Pietsch, the debut of NRL convert Zac Lomax for the Force and 18-year-old Reds starter Treyvan Pritachard.

These flyers, along with Mark Nawaqanitawase and Max Jorgensen, shape as the wind beneath Kiss’s wings for the World Cup. “There is a uniquely Australian way to play,” he says. “Our athletes are forged in backyards, friends dusting each other up, finding a way to win. Sometimes you have to be inventive, sometimes physical. The Australian way isn’t formulaic, it’s expressive. Outside influence is important but there’s a way Australians solve things on the sports field that make us special.”