London Irish bring in Declan Kidney and Les Kiss
London Irish have appointed former Ireland coaches Declan Kidney and Les Kiss as the Exiles’ new technical consultant and head coach respectively.
The pair join the club with immediate effect, bringing a wealth of experience to supplement the current coaching set-up.
Kidney is one of Irish rugby’s most successful and celebrated coaches and has legendary status in his native Munster, having guided the province to two Champions Cup titles and to a further two Champions Cup finals during his time as head coach at Thomond Park.
In 2002, he joined Ireland’s coaching staff and returned to lead the national team in 2008. The Grand Slam he won 2009 was Ireland’s first in 61 years and helped earn Kidney the accolade of World Rugby Coach of the Year, which was followed by a quarter-final spot at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Kidney was also successful in his earlier international career, coaching Ireland Under-19s to the Under-19 Rugby World Championship in 1998 and Ireland’s second team to the 2009 Churchill Cup title.
Since 2013 he has held the position of director of sport and physical activity at University College Cork in Ireland, one of Europe’s leading academic institutions.
Kiss is also vastly experienced. After helping the New South Wales Waratahs reach two Super Rugby finals, the culmination of a six-year period on the coaching staff at the Sydney Football Stadium, he headed north as Kidney’s defence coach with the Ireland national team, a position he also held with South Africa in 2001/02.
Kiss and Kidney worked together between 2008 and 2013 and the Australian remained with the national team until 2015. In 2014 and 2015 he won back-to-back Six Nations titles working alongside Joe Schmidt. After the 2015 Rugby World Cup, Kiss joined Ulster as director of rugby and guided the Belfast-based outfit to the 2016 PRO12 semi-finals, before leaving Ravenhill on amicable terms in January 2018.
“We’re as ambitious as every other club in the Aviva Premiership and, in order to achieve the objectives we have set for the club, we need to make changes in the coaching structure to give us the best chance for success,” said Mick Crossan, London Irish’s president and majority shareholder.
“The current coaches under Brendan Venter, who has occupied a part-time technical director role with the club since summer 2016, have worked very hard to consolidate our position in the Aviva Premiership following promotion last year, but it is fair to say that things haven’t gone to plan.
“Our young coaching team under Nick Kennedy have worked tirelessly and have built a great team spirit, despite the disappointing run of league results that followed the opening day victory over Harlequins at Twickenham in the London Double Header.
“We feel that the time is now right to bring in someone to replace Brendan and to work with the current coaches to give us a new direction. Declan will bring a winning mentality to London Irish, something he has shown over a number of years by winning the Heineken Cup twice with Munster and the Grand Slam with Ireland, which he achieved working with Les Kiss as his assistant coach in 2009.”
Kidney’s appointment means that Brendan Venter has been released of his contract with immediate effect.
Crossan added: “Brendan will always be a significant figure in our history and we thank him for all of his efforts over the last season-and-a-half.”