Edinburgh Rugby head coach favourite emerges as candidate Les Kiss 'agrees terms' with Queensland

Brad Mooar has emerged as the favourite for the Edinburgh head coach vacancy amid reports that fellow target Les Kiss is poised to take over at Queensland Reds.

Kiss was understood to be high on Edinburgh's shortlist to replace Mike Blair, who announced his intention to step down in February and was recently appointed as an assistant coach to Dave Rennie at Kobe Steelers in Japan.

However, according to a report in Australian publication The Sydney Morning Herald, 58-year-old Kiss, who was in charge of London Irish until the club’s recent financial collapse, has agreed terms with Queensland and will be unveiled before the end of the month.

The report also claims that Steve Diamond, who has been placed in charge of Edinburgh until at least August after being drafted in as a lead rugby consultant last season, was also interviewed for the Queensland job but missed out to Kiss despite having 'seriously impressed' franchise bosses.

Les Kiss was on Edinburgh's radar but is set to be appointed head coach of Queensland Reds. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Mooar, who is also reported to have been interviewed by Queensland, now appears to be the frontrunner for the Edinburgh hotseat given a recent report in The Times which stated that he and Kiss were the remaining two candidates for the role.

Mooar is already contracted to Scottish Rugby having joined Gregor Townsend’s national team as an attack coach prior to this year's Six Nations – a role he is due to continue at the World Cup in France in September and October.

The New Zealander was previously an assistant coach with the All Blacks and has prior experience of working as a head coach in the United Rugby Championship following a season in charge of Scarlets in 2019-20.