Blues title-winning coach Vern Cotter will replace Les Kiss at the Queensland Reds when he departs for the Wallabies' top job this year.
The Ballymore club confirmed the appointment on Tuesday, with Cotter to coach the Blues this season before switching to the Reds ahead of the 2027 season after inking a two-year deal.
That rules him out of the race to replace Scott Robertson as All Blacks coach and offers the Reds a replacement with proven title-winning pedigree.
Cotter won the French Top 14 title with Clermont-Auvergne in 2010, then spent six years coaching Test rugby, winning 19 of 36 Tests with Scotland before taking over Fiji .
He then returned to Super Rugby with the Blues in 2024 to net their first championship in 21 years.
Those achievements put him in the company of Michael Cheika, Robbie Deans and Eddie Jones as coaches to win club titles in both hemispheres.
"In professional sport, you don't want to be walking into a vague organisation," Cotter said on his 64th birthday on Tuesday.
"The Queensland Rugby Union has already shown it has some really smart people in the business, they are organised and they have a vision.
"Every time I've taken a role in sport, it's been about the people. I've had a connection with (Reds football boss) Sam Cordingley since my days at Clermont in France.
"When I was contacted about the position, I was chuffed and proud. Australian rugby and Australian sport fascinates me.
"To work in that culture excites me, and when the QRU laid out their plans for the Reds, it was compelling."
The Reds have built a competitive squad in recent years, but have been beaten comprehensively in quarter-finals in the past four seasons.
"I did my homework," Cotter said.
"The Queensland mindset is strong. The history of players who have been produced for the Reds and Wallabies, and the junior nurseries behind them, tells me there is scope for the Reds to keep growing."
Cordingley said Cotter's "rare combination" shot him to the top of the field.
"Our criteria was clear - we wanted a coach with a history of title success capable of building on the strong high-performance environment Les has created at the Reds," he said.
"Vern brings a rare combination of international experience and title success in both the northern and southern hemispheres."
Kiss will steer the Reds through this season before his first Tests in charge of the Wallabies, against Japan, in August.
"I look forward to ensuring the transition to Vern is a good one," Kiss said.
"As part of the coaching group and team management, we are really excited to put everything into a big 2026 season at the Reds with all we have been training and working at."
