Friday’s Super Rugby clash between the Reds and Highlanders pits the incoming Wallabies coach against a top contender to be his All Blacks counterpart.
Jamie Joseph is seen as a leading contender – along with former Wallabies coach Dave Rennie – to be the new All Blacks boss after Scott Robertson was fired last month.
Should Joseph get the job, he and Kiss will lead out their respective teams in the Bledisloe Cup later this year.
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The Reds have been reinforced by the return of Wallabies captain Harry Wilson, who underwent minor surgery last month after damaging his knee in August when leading the Wallabies to victory over the Springboks at Ellis Park.
He is one of five Wallabies back in the Reds’ match 23 for the Brisbane showdown, along with flyhalf Carter Gordon, hooker Josh Nasser, scrumhalf Kalani Thomas and utility back Filipo Daugunu.
“This is our home and we always want to put out a performance worthy of the Queensland jersey,” said Reds coach Kiss, who will take over from Joe Schmidt as Wallabies coach in July.
“We have been working hard on areas that will be important against the Highlanders. We know how getting all those little moments right do add up in rugby.”
The Reds crashed 36-12 to the Waratahs a fortnight ago to open their season before a round-two bye.
They will need the experience of their Wallabies contingent to get past the Highlanders, who defeated the champion Crusaders in round one before a narrow 26-23 loss to the Chiefs last week.
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Joseph has kept faith with the Highlanders’ core group that pushed the Chiefs to the brink with just one change to the starting pack – Oliver Haig replacing Will Stodart.
“Our game is growing, and we’re working hard on the small details that will help us deliver a more complete 80-minute performance,” said Joseph.
“We’ll need that level of accuracy and intensity if we’re going to get the job done on Friday.”
Friday’s match kicks off at 10:35am (SA time).
– AFP
Photo: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
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