diff --git a/playbooks/rename_repos.yaml b/playbooks/rename_repos.yaml
index c9748311fd..873eba4870 100644
--- a/playbooks/rename_repos.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/rename_repos.yaml
@@ -86,6 +86,22 @@
     - name: Make backup of gerrit index
       shell: cp -ax /home/gerrit2/review_site/index /home/gerrit2/index.backup.$(date +%s)
 
+    # As an alternative we can simply delete the waiting queue. Previously
+    # these were copied for debugging purposes but the problems are
+    # reasonably well understood so we probably don't need to keep collecting
+    # more data.
+    # We use the tmp/ path because it is not backed up and we don't need to
+    # preserve this information long term.
+    - name: Create replication queue target location
+      file:
+        path: /home/gerrit2/tmp/replication_waiting_queues
+        state: directory
+        mode: '0755'
+        owner: gerrit2
+        group: gerrit2
+    - name: Move the replication plugin waiting queue aside due to bugs
+      shell: mv /home/gerrit2/review_site/data/replication/ref-updates/waiting /home/gerrit2/tmp/replication_waiting_queues/waiting_queue_$(date +%s)
+
 - hosts: review
   gather_facts: False
   remote_user: root