Finally, the gold smoke has been released from Rugby Australia's Moore Park window.
Les Kiss will become the Wallabies' fifth different coach in seven years, after a drawn-out recruitment process that hit some unexpected stumbling blocks - and eventually required a whole new solution entirely.
Fortunately for RA, they have assembled a leadership group that appears to be less autocratical than in recent times. And a deal to have Kiss replace Joe Schmidt in the top job in Australian rugby, albeit a little later than originally planned, was finally done.
Still, there is a bit to unpack from protracted process.
WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG FOR KISS TO BE CONFIRMED AS SCHMIDT'S HEIR APPARENT?
RA boss Phil Waugh perhaps went off a little soon in originally declaring the situation first surrounding Schmidt's future, and then who would be his replacement, would be wrapped up early 2025.
Having taken until Feb. 6 to first reach an original six-Test extension with Schmidt, taking the Kiwi through to the end of this year's Rugby Championship, RA was already chasing its tail. And while the governing body's preference was always to promote from within Australia, they still wanted to do their due diligence in considering all options, including Michael Cheika and former England coach Stuart Lancaster.
But for all intents and purposes, Kiss was always the man at the top of their list. He had the resume, had impressed in one-and-a-half Super Rugby Pacific seasons and, most tellingly, has a long coaching relationship with Schmidt.
"Continuity" had, meanwhile, for a key focal point of Waugh's Wallabies succession plan.
But when RA went to meet with the Queensland Rugby Union, "continuity" and "alignment" suddenly became as much of an issue as it did a mission statement.
"I think we've ended up in our desired solution in terms of that continuation of growth at the Reds under Les' leadership and then Joe spending more time with the [Wallabies] group for a longer period of time through to the end of July 2026," Waugh told reporters at Allianz Stadium on Wednesday.
"We think the transition and the solutions are really elegant and really neat; Joe finishes up as head coach at the end of the three Tests at the Nations Cup in July 2026 and Les transitions across to lead the program; we think we've got the best solution."
Some Australian rugby supporters might accuse the Queensland Rugby Union of not acting in the best interests of the game by not simply releasing Kiss at the end of this year's Super Rugby season.
But with the former State of Origin winger keen to finish the job he had started, chasing the ultimate goal of winning a Super Rugby title across two seasons rather than one, and the QRU beholden to its own stakeholders, negotiations dragged on.
And the 2026 handover is the result.
ISN'T SCHMIDT STAYING ON FOR FURTHER EIGHT TESTS A GOOD RESULT THEN?
Firstly, it's a further 14 Tests than the original deal he signed at the start of 2024.
Ask any Australian fan late last year, after the Wallabies had beaten England at Twickenham and gone close to upsetting Ireland, if they'd wanted Schmidt to stay on, and the answer would have been a resounding "yes".
The fact he will continue to work with the same group of players, bar a few who have committed their futures offshore - more on that shortly - who started to turn the tide last year is indeed a good result for the Wallabies' 2025 Test season.
But what happens if things aren't travelling so swimmingly in the middle of next year, and the Wallabies need a complete change of direction? Is 12 months long enough for Kiss to come in and change the Wallabies' course ahead of the World Cup, when he may have roughly 15 Tests to turn things around?
Certainly the Queenslander is banking on the idea that Schmidt will continue the improvement he started in 2024, growing it to the point where he will only have to come in and make cosmetic changes.
"Just taking on the role is scary but exciting at the same time, it's an honour to do what I'm doing," Kiss said when asked about his World Cup runway. "To your question, I think the things that we do well together, the things that we see the game together, the way we see how culture should be built, they're all underpinning it. So, there's not going to be any excuses there.
"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 that Phil talked about earlier 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 and maybe the difference will be my jokes are better than Joe... I'm not trying to be flippant there but I'm just saying it's massively important that players know it's not a rip and tear.
"It's coming there and [looking at] how do I dovetail and make that work better in the continuation process that we've had here from day one when we first chatted about this with Phil, Peter [Horne] and Dan [Herbert]. That's what I'm really confident about, that that's going to work well, and we'll keep our conversations going along nicely."
IS THERE A FIRM PLAN FOR SCHMIDT TO STAY ON IN SOME CAPACITY BEYOND 2026?
Once it was clear that Kiss and the Reds both wanted his contract fulfilled, RA then set about the task of convincing Schmidt to once again extend his own existing deal.
Concessions have been granted that will allow Schmidt the chance to spend more time with his family, as per his original reasoning for wanting to finish up, but it's clear the coaching bug is alive and well for the Kiwi, and that his arm didn't require too much twisting.
But while he won't rule out staying on beyond 2026 in an advisory role, there are some other pursuits nagging him in the background.
"I didn't consider this one, so when Pete [Horne] rang me I'd said no to the role a few times, but it's a bit like Les, we have a friendship going back from other jobs that we've done and so he said we need a bit of experience, in other words we need an old guy," Schmidt quipped.
"So I wanted to make myself feel young so I got [assistants] Mike Cron and Laurie [Fisher] and so as Owen Toolin described us as Dad's Army; we've tried to do the best we can and so I don't foresee that [extending].
"But I know the privilege and I know how many people would love to do a job like this and so it's something that for a small town kid born in Kawakawa, New Zealand, it's been a fantastic opportunity for me and those opportunities to see the world for my family has been great as well.
"So it's not something that I'd ever rule out completely, but it's definitely not my plans. The boat on the lake and trying to get my golf handicap down... that'd be a couple of really ambitious goals that I have beyond the end of July next year."
WHERE DOES THIS SUCCESSION PLAN LEAVE NOAH LOLESIO?
The Brumbies playmaker spoke a few weeks ago about how Schmidt's original decision to finish up in 2025 had influenced his own call to take up a deal in Japan.
Lolesio said he understood Schmidt's decision and the reasons behind it, but that lack of certainty around the incoming Wallabies coach helped solidify his thinking to head offshore.
That situation has now obviously changed, and Lolesio could have had as many as 14 Tests to further solidify his place as Australia's first-choice No. 10 ahead of the World Cup if he had opted to stay.
Obviously Schmidt's decision to extend beyond 2025 was not what he originally planned to do, but you could understand if Lolesio certainly had some frustration with how the situation had played out.
"I speak to a number of those players who were regular starters for us, but also try to stay out of the way of the Super coaches because I know their relationship with the player is what's important in the present time," Schmidt said when asked about Lolesio.
"I had a couple of discussions with Noah in the lead-up to the decision he made and while disappointed with the decision, it's not a long-term decision and I think Noah is still a young player and can still have a future with the Wallabies I think in the longer term."
Lolesio's deal in Japanese rugby is understood to be for just two years, so he could foreseeably sign with an Australian franchise in 2028 and immediately be eligible for the Wallabies ahead of the 2027 World Cup as a result. However, those who have opted to stay in Australia throughout 2026 and 2027 will have had a significant head start.
Who knows what he might have done with the updated information on the Wallabies' coaching direction.
WHAT ABOUT THIS YEAR THEN AND THE POLICY OF NOT PICKING PLAYERS WHO ARE HEADED OVERSEAS?
In the immediate future, Schmidt has the British & Irish Lions at the front of his thinking. The Wallabies coach last year made a point of selecting players who were committed or provincial rugby in Australia - save for a couple of end-of-year exemptions.
And he said that policy would continue in 2025, though wouldn't rule out selecting any of the likes of Lolesio, Rob Leota, Tom Hooper, Langi Gleeson and, potentially Taniela Tupou, should the out-of-form front-rower decide to take up a deal in France.
"Yeah we will, so clarity is that we'll prioritise them [player staying in Australia] but clarity is also that nobody is out of the mix," Schmidt said. "And so if there is someone [heading overseas] we believe that will add value and is clearly outplaying his opponents as far as selection is concerned for the squad then [we'll pick them].
"We know how tough the Lions are going to be, we know how deep they're going to go in really experienced athletic and combative players, so we know that we're going to have to have as close as we can that the best group to compete against those guys."
SO WHAT HAPPENS NOW, THEN?
Well, for Kiss, there was a plane to catch to Suva for the Reds' vital clash with the Fijian Drua. He will refocus on Queensland's run to the playoffs and his ultimate goal of bringing a second Super Rugby title to Ballymore.
While there is no firm plan for him to join the Wallabies in an observatory capacity, to start the process of a prolonged handover as such, Kiss said there was always the opportunity for any of Australia's Super Rugby coaches to drop by Wallabies training.
And Kiss will consult with Schmidt around his own Reds players, how they're performing and exactly what they might need after a rigorous Super Rugby season.
Meanwhile, the Reds can now zero in on their own longer-term planning, including finding Kiss' replacement for a role QRU chief executive David Hanham says is among the most attractive in the world.
As for the Kiwi who's just signed his second Wallabies extension in the space of three months? The first Test against the Lions is now just 81 days away.