THE NAME OF Ulster’s new full-time head coach has been known for some time, but the decision to give Les Kiss 13 months before taking up the Director of Rugby role was the surprise today.
Indeed for some, it was a surprise that they named a DOR at all, given that the IRFU have a newly-appointed performance director of their own and Kiss had taken over with province promising a review of their management structure.
Appointing Doak must have been a straightforward decision for CEO Shane Logan.
While there were big-name coaches who seem to be omnipresent members of the ‘potential next coach’ brigade, any one of them would have, almost by definition, been a short-term solution in a province that needs stability and a safe pair of hands (or two safe pairs of hands),
In Doak, there are parallels with Anthony Foley and not just because they coached together with the Wolfhounds. Doak is entrenched within Ulster Rugby and he has long been ear-marked to make the grade and step up into the northern province’s hot seat; though he may not have expected his opportunity to come soon.
Last month, Luke Marshall spoke in glowing terms of a coach he has played under since his school days, but tellingly added that the former scrum-half was “running the show” while Mark Anscombe was still in situ.
So Doak brings credit for Ulster’s rise to European rugby’s top table, but also the baggage of their inability to get over the line in the very biggest games.
That’s where Kiss comes in. Despite the gap between today’s announcement and his assumption of the role, Kiss is a top class appointment who brings brings energy and intelligence to every position he has had. And since the day Declan Kidney brought him into the national setup, Kiss has always appeared to be a champion of what the northern province were producing.
That he has been working in Ireland since 2008 is another major positive. There will be no bedding-in period, no transition while Kiss learns the landscape, the ethos and the restrictions.
If there is a downside, it’s that Ireland are certain to lose their innovative defence coach. Kiss has two Six Nations championship medals to his name in his short time on this island and, after John Plumtree’s premature exit earlier this year, it is one more chip away from Joe Schmidt’s dream back-room team that delivered the Six Nations Championship.
There will be challenges for Kiss too. While Doak will find only increased pressure and public focus in a role that should otherwise be second nature, Kiss will have to adjust to a role with greatly reduced room for on-the-field coaching. By the time he takes the job in November 2015, Kiss will be approaching his 51st birthday and he will no doubt welcome the opportunity to move inside out of the cold for a time.
The Australian’s time as interim Director of Rugby at Kingspan Ravenhill Stadium has doubtless given him no cause to reconsider whether he can work in tandem with Doak. However, there is a danger that the dynamic may be slightly altered in a year’s time.
That said, neither Kiss or Doak have ever seemed the type of men to let ego and intransigence get in the way of innovation and progress.
