Can the 2014 Waratahs find the magic dust and rescue the Tahs in 2024?
By Iain Payten and Tom Decent
The man who iced a premiership-winning kick for the Waratahs in 2014 says today’s struggling NSW side can draw inspiration from the champion Tahs team not only rising from 11th to first in two seasons but overcoming a slow start in their title-winning season too.
Bernard Foley offered a ray of hope for beleaguered Waratahs fans ahead of the Tahs’ critical clash with the Crusaders on Friday night at Allianz Stadium.
Given they famously downed the Crusaders to win the Super Rugby final, the 2014 team are gathering for a pair of ten-year reunions; one in Sydney and another in Tokyo, where six team members now play or coach.
A group of premiership players - Dave Dennis, Jono Lance, Brendan McKibbin, Rob Horne, Steve Hoiles and Adam Ashley-Cooper - joined the Waratahs for breakfast at Allianz Stadium on Thursday, where Dennis addressed the team and urged them to keep the faith after claiming just one win from seven games.
In a strange twist, the Waratahs’ only win was over the Crusaders in round two; one of an uncharacteristic five losses for the defending champions.
Via a handful of losing bonus points, the Tahs remain in the hunt for the finals but based on the points tally of eighth place in the last two seasons, will likely need four wins from their last seven games.
NSW need to start winning more games but any sky-blue hopes of the Crusaders still being out-of-sorts were punctured last weekend when Rob Penney’s team dusted the in-form Chiefs.
The Waratahs celebrate after beating the Crusaders in the 2014 Super Rugby final.Credit: Mark Nolan/Getty Images
“It’s been tough to watch. They have the talent, I just don’t think they have got the cohesion right in the attack and how they really want to play, and the belief. And that’s the hardest thing,” Foley said.
“The positive about the tournament is it is a top-eight finish, so if you can build momentum at the back end of the year and into the finals, anything is possible. Momentum was key for us in ’14.”
Dennis, the Tahs’ captain who was injured for the final, gave a similar reminder to the 2024 Waratahs, pointing out that his side had also struggled and lost four games in a seven-game stretch before winning nine straight to finish minor premiers and champions.
“Those guys [at the breakfast] were really good. It felt like they understood what the boys are going through,” Waratahs assistant coach Pauli Taumoepeau said.
The Waratahs’ woes have left fans flat but Foley - who is convening a Tokyo catch-up with Nick Phipps, Paddy Ryan, Israel Folau, Wycliff Palu and Taqele Naiyaravaro - also offered a timely reminder that a team can quickly turn fortunes around.
In 2012, Foley was part of a Waratahs team that won just four times in 16 games. It prompted the arrival of Michael Cheika, who lifted much the same team to a title in 2014.
The Waratahs’ season is not yet over but the team desperately needs to start winning games. Credit: Getty
“That was the whole thing ‘Cheik’ emphasised when he started: ‘The talent is here, the ability is here, so how do we get the buy-in, and the commitment to the cause’,” Foley recalled.
“He made a couple of personnel changes but not heaps, and it did happen quickly for that team, definitely. It is possible for teams to turn around. The Blues have done it, the Reds had a couple of tough years and are now starting to really flourish.”
Foley sidestepped the question of whether Cheika would be the right man to come back and do it all again, as has been floated by some pundits.
Meanwhile, Foley said the Aqua Rugby festival had been moved to Darling Harbour after two years at Manly as part of a plan to market the concept to other cities around Australia and the world.
Foley is a co-founder of the on-water rugby event, which runs from Thursday to Saturday and features club and invitational teams. Similar events are set to be run alongside the British and Irish Lions tour next year.
“We moved to a different model, more a cookie-cutter that can be replicated in harbours around the country and the world. We wanted to put it in the heart of Sydney there, the Sydney skyline, the accessibility for people in the area and the passing traffic, who can get up close to the action,” Foley said.
Watch all the action from the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season, with every match ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.