Why Kiss successor’s All Blacks ambitions were ‘never really a viable option’

Vern Cotter said he was never in the mix to take the All Blacks coaching reins, having already been deep in discussions to help guide Australian rugby towards a brighter future.

The New Zealander, now at the helm of Super Rugby powerhouse the Auckland Blues, will succeed Les Kiss at the Queensland Reds from 2027 once the latter takes over the top job at the Wallabies.

Cotter brings with him two premierships – with the Blues in 2024 and Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14 – while he also enjoyed a strong international stint with Scotland.

He was being discussed as a potential option for the vacant All Blacks job, but the 64-year-old said he had already been enticed to Queensland well before Kiwi coach Scott Robertson’s shock axing. 

“The All Black job was a surprise to everybody.

“Nobody expected ‘Razer’ to be stepped down from his position, and I was already well down the track with the Reds and the management had been discussing the possible coaching opportunity with them for three months,” Cotter said, while endorsing Jamie Joseph and Dave Rennie for the New Zealand job.

“I’d basically verbally given my acceptance to the Reds before the All Black thing came up, so it was never really a viable option. Of course, as Kiwis, we would’ve loved to have coached the All Blacks, but that’s not it.

“I’m really excited about what the Reds are looking at doing and improving, I think that’s the challenge for me, and I’m not satisfied with where I’m at as a coach. I think change is growth, and this will be a great opportunity.”

Kiss will take charge of Australia once his Reds obligations end after the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific campaign, with Cotter expected to arrive at Ballymore in late July or early August.

Cotter transformed the Blues into one of the most feared forward packs in the competition, and orchestrated the club’s first Super Rugby title in 21 years – aside from the COVID-19 impacted Trans Tasman concept in 2021.

While the Reds have fallen at the quarterfinals for the past two years to more dominant Kiwi forward packs, Cotter insisted his role would be a continuation of what Kiss had achieved.

Cotter – who has a close friendship with outgoing Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, and confirmed he had been in regular discussions with him about the Wallabies players within the Reds’ ranks – said he did not see a need to completely reshape the roster, adamant the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home soil would bring the best out of the squad.

“Then we’ll get them at the end of the World Cup, ’28 will be the period where we’ll have players who have learned from probably a successful World Cup, I think, for Australia,” Cotter said.

“I’ve got a bit of an insight into what they bring as characters, skill sets and how they connect with each other on the field. It was important I speak to someone who knew the players and had experience with the environment and rugby in Australia to get a feeling for what I’d be dealing with in and around attitude and professionalism.

“It was a great conversation with Joe, and he was very complementary of the playing roster that’s there and sees some upward growth within that group.

“There’s no time for rewriting, it’s a continuation … they’re a very difficult team to confront.”

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