'There might be a little bit of backburn': The bad optics that could inform unprecedented Wallabies move

Former Wallabies halfback Nick Phipps believes Les Kiss deserves to be the frontrunner to replace Joe Schmidt and that Michael Cheika's chances of a second term have been hurt by the Eddie Jones debacle.

Kiss confirmed his discussions with Rugby Australia following Queensland's emphatic 35-15 win over NSW in an interview with Stan Sport on Saturday.

Schmidt is stepping down after the Rugby Championship in October to spend more time with his family in New Zealand.

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If Kiss were to win the job it would cap a remarkable rise through the rugby coaching ranks after starring for the North Sydney Bears, Queensland and Australia as a wily league winger.

Phipps played 72 Tests for Australia and was coached by Kiss at London Irish in 2019-22.

He described Fraser McReight's brilliant try against the Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium as "peak Les Kiss."

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"Silky hands, they played direct for two phases, then they played out of the back," Phipps told Stan Sport's Between Two Posts.

"Everyone was running in motion off the hip. That was one of the best tries I've seen this year, I reckon, team tries. I thought it was brilliant. That's Kissy.

"He always wants people in motion, he wants people working hard off the ball. Players swung from the far side in those two direct phases, and then they made numbers around the corner. That's how Kissy likes to play.

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"A lot of his coaching style is very much upskilling his players. He talks a lot about the way that he wants them to play and then upskills them so that they're able to do it. And that's really coming through there, especially with that try."

Schmidt is keen to stay on in an advisory role should his replacement want him to and the New Zealander worked successfully with Kiss at his side in Ireland.

Kiss is described as quirky but emotionally intelligent.

"Great fella, really nice guy," Phipps said.

"He's not the kick the door in sort of guy. He's not a screamer but he's a real people person. He understands his players and how to use them."

Phipps revealed he had recommended Kiss to Queensland board member James Horwill after Brad Thorn's Reds tenure ended in 2023.

"I think he's definitely the frontrunner (for the Wallabies), you're led to believe. I definitely think he's got the most runs on the board at the moment," Phipps said.

"I love (Dan) McKellar, I love (Stephen) Larkham, they're both fantastic coaches, but Kissy's been in that international arena before, he's worked well with a director of rugby over the top of him.

"I want him to be the Wallabies coach because I think he'd be the best for the role. Look how well the Reds are going now and they're going to be a real force this season."

The Reds are the top Australian team in Super Rugby Pacific, in third place after five rounds.

Former Wallabies back Morgan Turinui has also been coached by Kiss and believes the 60-year-old is the best man to lead the Wallabies, but also questioned why Michael Cheika was not more at the forefront of discussions.

Cheika has met with RA and is available after announcing he will depart his post at Leicester Tigers at the end of the Premiership season.

Phipps was a member of Cheika's Waratahs team that won the 2014 Super Rugby title and the Wallabies side that reached the 2015 Rugby World Cup final.

Cheika also guided Australia to the 2019 World Cup quarter-finals and Argentina to the 2023 World Cup semi-finals.

"The runs are on the board - he's obviously a very good coach," Phipps said.

"I don't know why his name isn't thrown in there enough at the moment. There might be a little bit of backburn from 2019 (messy Wallabies exit) and then if anything, I think Eddie Jones has probably put him back a tiny bit more as well.

"I know Cheik would love the role, definitely, who wouldn't? But I think at the moment they've (RA) spoken only about continuation, right?

"They just want to continue and I think Kissy's the best kind of guy to bring that continuation through. Whereas Cheik, he's so good at coming in and 'crash, bang' (shaking things up)."

Turinui pointed out that the reportedly leading contenders didn't have the silverware on their CV's to match those of previous Wallabies appointments.

"If it's going to be Kiss, McKellar or Larkham, it's the first time possibly ever that we're promoting a guy directly from Super Rugby to the Wallabies coaching job without them having won the comp.

"Jones, (Ewen) McKenzie, Cheika, those guys won Super Rugby and then came into the Wallabies job. The resume of Michael Cheika is above all of these other guys that we're discussing, right?

"Because international rugby is very different to provincial rugby. I understand what you're saying about the Eddie Jones thing - are you reticent to do something that looks a bit similar to how bad that was?

"There's the benchmark, Michael Cheika, two teams to the last four of World Cups. OK, you've got to be probably better than that. We're going two years out from a home World Cup, and it looks like whoever it is might be getting their first international coaching gig."

McKellar and Larkham have previously worked as Wallabies assistant coaches.

McKellar has reportedly not had a formal interview.

The selection panel consists of director of high performance Peter Horne, chief executive Phil Waugh, chairman Daniel Herbert and RA board member John Eales.