It leaves Kiss, the Queensland rugby league icon, 14 months with the Wallabies before a World Cup in Australia that starts in October, 2027. “Taking on the role is scary but exciting at the same time,” Kiss said at Wednesday’s announcement at Allianz Stadium. “It’s an honour to do what I’m doing. There will not be any excuses there [of a short runway into the World Cup]. There’s going to be strong things in place that I can tap into and dovetail and bring my points of difference to. “That continuation is massively important in terms of making sure when I step in there people are still certain about how they work and how they do their job. Maybe the difference will be my jokes are better than Joe’s. “I’m not trying to be flippant there, but I’m just saying it’s massively important that the players know there’s not a rip and tear.