“I think we’ve done some really special things this year in terms of how we’ve built the game around a new facility, our game style and all those things.

“We want to make it difficult to leave, and that’s part of the deal as well and that’s where we’ll play our part. We want players to know that what we’re trying to do with the program we can offer them outside of Super Rugby.”

Reds teenager Harry McLaughlin-Phillips came up with two match-winning plays against the Chiefs, while fellow playmaker Tom Lynagh was singled out for praise by Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt when he addressed the media on Wednesday.

Recent debutant Tim Ryan - known as the ‘Junkyard Dog’ by his teammates - also scored a hat-trick in the heartbreaking defeat to Auckland, and caught Schmidt’s attention.

“We definitely want people to stay and be part of the Wallabies set up, but I love it when someone is unavailable, and suddenly, we uncover a kid who didn’t just score those tries, he finished them superbly,” Schmidt said.

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“That’s something that excites me, the kids like Tim Ryan coming through. If we do lose people we’ll be disappointed, but if we do, my mindset is let’s get this guy in and build a combination and go forward.”

Kiss has also overseen the evolution of inside centre Hunter Paisami, who has gone from an injury-plagued 2023 campaign to the cusp of a Wallabies recall, but is reportedly exploring interest from European rugby for next year.

However, ahead of his side’s clash with the Crusaders on Saturday, the coach was confident they had the tools to retain the bulldozing phenom, as he sought to announce to Schmidt he was the man to spearhead the future.

“There’s no doubt we’d love to keep him, there’s no doubt about that. The right people are working on that, and they’ll get to the solution, and I’m pretty sure he’ll end up in the right place,” Kiss said.

“He hasn’t stopped surprising me … he’s happy here, that’s for sure. I think his performances are doing the talking, RA and Joe know, they’ve seen him.”