IT is a long-standing Irish trait, or failing, to associate good conversation with good porter. Particularly after a long day, at a time of the year when evenings are "pulling in" and you find yourself in a warm pub with rain-lashed windows stressing the peculiar pleasure that comes with being tucked away indoors on a filthy night.

The cosy surroundings are provided by the well-appointed bar of the Ireland squad's base at the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick, the conversation by the team's knowledgeable, articulate and engaging defence coach, Australian Les Kiss.

The temptation to order a couple of pints of plain (or even a light but refreshing West Coast Cooler) is strong but with dictaphone, pen and paper stressing the fact that it is not yet officially clocking-out time, the somewhat reluctant order goes in for black coffee (excuse me 'Americano') and sparkling water with a twist.

Ireland's totemic engine room partnership of Paul O'Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan stretch out in relaxed chat at a nearby table as their national defensive guru starts to recall the emotional ride that was Ireland's Grand Slam adventure last spring.

journey

Kiss' coaching journey has seen him swap the east coast of Queensland for Dublin on Ireland's east coast, with stop-offs in England, South Africa and Japan along the way. During his rugby league playing days, Kiss experienced the fervour and fanaticism of Australia's State of Origin series between Queensland and New South Wales and so was well used to sport's tribal warfare.

However, being exposed to the passions of the Six Nations proved an eye-opener -- particularly when it led to a 61-year-old outpouring of national joy masterminded by coach Declan Kidney.

"The Six Nations was incredibly intense," recalls the 44-year-old. "The events in those games rival the tension that you get in Origin, but this is country versus country, with all the history and tradition that goes with it. I mean no Irishman is ever going to play for England, are they?

"As for the emotion, it was a wonderful experience. You're aware of the significance of what's building but you have to keep grounded and Dec is very much that way, we're all that way, we think that way, we feel that way -- whatever is in the here and now is the most important thing."

The "here and now" came down to those final unforgettable moments in Cardiff, when Ireland's Ronan O'Gara and Wales' Stephen Jones went through their climactic drop-goal, penalty-kick, light-sabre routine.

"You've seen the clips and we're sitting there and we look pretty calm but internally, I mean ... if you look closely you can see the signs of the deep, intense emotions we were feeling. And then, the moment when the win came, the outpouring was enormous ... a bit of man love going on, maybe," he laughs, recalling the frenzied hugging and shouting among the management team.

"The significance hit me when we came home -- that airport, that reception and the whole next week -- to see what it meant to the Irish people blew me apart. That was a good week. I just think that things like this ... talking to people it just ... you knew it meant something, which I found profound. And it didn't stop at just one demographic or one age group, it went right through everybody.

"I remember going with the trophy and talking to the kids at St Andrew's School -- my kids go there now -- and it will be a day that will live with me forever, seeing what it meant to young people. It's a national pride thing at a difficult time. We play a small part as coaches -- it's the players who do it -- but to know you had some part in it is amazing.

"There was even attention at home when I went back in the summer, probably just around the rugby people, but it was an appreciation for what Ireland had achieved."

Back home, Kiss is better known for his rugby league-playing exploits on the wing for Australia, North Sydney Bears and Queensland. He was good enough to be part of what is commonly regarded as the greatest Kangeroos side of all time, which toured Britain and France undefeated in 1986.

"That 1986 tour, we weren't fully professional, it was heading towards the big money but there was an element of an old-school tour to it. We played hard but we partied hard too and we had some phenomenal players.

"Wally Lewis was there, probably the greatest ever league player, Peter Sterling is probably in the top three half-backs the game has ever had, then you had Mal Meninga, one of the biggest sporting legends over there.

"I was just a little nobody who sat on the wing and benefited from the guys inside. It was a wonderful experience, beating Great Britain, who had Ellery Hanley, Martin Offiah and Shaun Edwards at Old Trafford, great memories."

The Queenslander likens the State of Origin to the Munster-Leinster rivalry he experienced at the Heineken Cup semi-final at Croke Park last May and explains how deep the Queensland-New South Wales divide goes.

"In my whole life I will coach in different countries, I will coach different teams but I will never, ever coach New South Wales in rugby league and that's to the day I die.

"You're either one or the other and that's for the rest of your life. Maybe with the next generation of players that will break but I can't see it happening in a hurry. It borders on hate but I don't like that word, it's an incredible intensity.

"It's similar to the Munster-Leinster thing in the way that the stereotypes are flung back and forth. New South Wales will throw out the whole red-neck, banjo and 'barbie' thing at us and we'll give them the 'city slickers' and all that sort of stuff.

"They started calling us 'cane toads' -- a toad that was introduced to Australia to kill certain insects but is now all over Queensland. It's an ugly bloody thing, small and fat and covered in warts so we just came up with the most derogatory thing we could think of and started calling them the cockroaches. So now you have these horrible little mascots running around, cane toads and cockroaches.

"Origin matches were pretty savage. I played in four of them and I think I lost to the bloody cockroaches every time -- probably why I got dropped!" (In fact, Kiss's playing career was cut short by injury.)

Though league defined his playing career and he has coached the 13-man code also, it was the switch to union that truly showcased his abilities to devise parsimonious defensive systems. When he served as South Africa's defence coach, the Springboks conceded the lowest number of tries (11) and points in the 2001 Tri-Nations and he did successful stints with various Australian teams, national and Super 14, and in Japan, before Kidney came calling.

He finds life in Ireland a rewarding experience and has no intention of leaving until the ultimate goal of achievement at the 2011 World Cup has been seen through.

"I love it here. I was living in Donnybrook at first in a bachelor pad. There were a couple of pubs I got to know well, Kielys and McSorleys a lot, then my wife decided to come over with the kids," he laughs.

"We moved to Blackrock. The kids are going to St Andrew's and they love it. Ireland really fits in at a nice pace for me at the moment. And there was a link. My wife's younger sister travelled the world some years ago and her first stop was Cork of all places. She met a guy and ended up married to him, Alan Cummins, son of the famous Kilkenny hurler Frank Cummins.

"I came over visiting Cork and travelled around, went across to Dingle and so on, so there was a connection and Ireland just felt right. My wife and kids have been very pro-active since they've been here full time and I try and join them when I can. It's good to get around and see the place, Sandymount and Dalkey and these places and we all went to the Agatha Christie play in the Gaiety the other night which was brilliant. It's a good place to be, and I feel privileged to be in this job, doing something I love and something that can hopefully influence people.

judge

"It's an interesting country, I follow the politics here and it's been controversial but every country has had it at times, we certainly did in Australia. I know there's a lot of pain in the country and a lot of things that people aren't happy about, I read it and I learn about it and some of it may not sit totally right with me but it's like when I was in South Africa, I don't judge. It's simple, if you don't like it then leave.

"The World Cup has to be the goal but you have to get the right balance -- if planning compromises what you have now, that's not what you want. It's balance -- the balance of experience and youth and the style of rugby that we've pushed -- a certain expansive style of rugby for different tactical situations. The move when I made it was the right move and we're building something that has to be seen through."

The immediate challenge is the Test against his home country on Sunday week, who bring a squad laden with players he knows close-up. That will not make his task of shutting them out any easier, says Kiss, who dismisses the talk of a "crisis" Down Under, but his presence lends a certain confidence to Ireland's November objectives.

After an hour of uninterrupted absorption, the dictaphone clicks to a halt, O'Connell and O'Callaghan are still chilling in the corner and the coffee cup is after going very dry.

"Try and make me look good," smiles Kiss as he takes his leave. "I want my family to think I'm a nice guy who knows what he's doing."

The defence rests.

- Hugh Farrelly

Irish Independent