Les Kiss and Marius Goosen: Edinburgh Rugby tight-lipped on link to potential head coach candidates

Edinburgh Rugby have refused to be drawn on a report linking the club with two potential head coach candidates.
Graham Bean
By Graham Bean
Published 26th Jun 2023, 15:27 BST
Updated 26th Jun 2023, 15:27 BST
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Les Kiss, in charge of London Irish until the club’s recent financial collapse, and Marius Goosen, Italy’s defence expert, are both on Edinburgh’s radar to replace Mike Blair according to the outlet RugbyPass. Blair announced his intention to step down in February and it was revealed on Friday that he was taking a new job in Japan, as assistant to Dave Rennie at Kobe Steelers. Edinburgh are currently under the charge of Steve Diamond, their ‘lead rugby consultant’, and have straight-batted the Kiss and Goosen link. “The recruitment process is ongoing but we don’t comment on speculation,” said a spokesman.

Kiss in particular would seem a suitable candidate. The experienced Australian had London Irish playing an attractive and effective brand of rugby which saw them finish fifth in the Gallagher Premiership last season, just missing out on the play-offs but qualifying for the Champions Cup before their descent into administration forced them to withdraw. Kiss, 58, played and coached rugby league before switching to union in 2001. He has worked as an assistant with the Springboks, NSW Waratahs and Ireland, helping the latter win the Grand Slam in 2009 under Declan Kidney and further Six Nations titles under Joe Schmidt. He had a spell as Ireland’s interim head coach before moving to Ulster as director of rugby. He joined London Irish in 2018.

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Goosen, 49, worked under Franco Smith, the Glasgow Warriors coach, at Benetton and Italy. A former fly-half, he played for the Bulls and Stormers in his native South Africa before relocating to Italy.

Related topics:Edinburgh RugbyItaly
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