Waratahs 2021

[Pass it to Dunning!]

For significant portions Penney has been missing Gordon, Walton, Perese & Bell. Also missed Dempsey & Swinton on the weekend and lost both starting locks inside 20 minutes.

Injuries will always happen - but when you’re already starting out behind all the other teams in terms of talent and you lose a couple of guys in your best half dozen your pretty well fucked. Looking for improvement while your roster is going backwards seems to be setting the bar a tad high IMHO.

The Tahs had all those players in round one, and they still lost by a record margin.

 

[eastman]

Penney had to go. The team looked lost out there. He recruited the dud players, his game plan (If he had one) failed this year and last year as well. He stated that he made the decisions on who came and went.

At least try to be partly accurate; he wasn't able to the recruitment that he would have liked at all - and he has said this publicly.

The organisation put severe financial restrictions on player wage spending, so not only could he not recruit quality players, he also wasn't able to offer existing players fair contracts. Major example being that Penney wanted to retain Karmichael Hunt but could only put a minimum wage offer on the table due to salary constraints and existing contracts not of his doing.

The game plan and the team's performance definitely fall under his responsibility though and it has been sub-par. Although like everyone, I'm not sure promoting the assistants who were also directly involved and responsible is a better approach.

 

[Rebels3]

Coleman is in the states for a couple of years as per an interview he gave on one of the growing list of podcasts based around MLR. So we can probably scratch him.

Im sure he could back out of an MLR contract easily. Wouldn't surprise me if he had a clause to go if offered

 

[TSR]

The Tahs had all those players in round one, and they still lost by a record margin.

People are talking or looking week to week improvement while the roster is going backwards.

Plus, in the game you talk about they lost Gordon & Walton to injury during the game, were missing Swinton and lost Perese to a red. Plus had another yellow if I recall correctly.

I actually think your reference to that underlines my point rather than refutes it.

 

[Joe Blow]

I’m sure Cheika has a little time on his hands. Wouldn’t be bad to have him involved.
Sadly I would guess that Ewen McKenzie is forever lost to Australian rugby. It might be the single biggest loss to the code here in my adult lifetime. One of many big stuff ups over time.
Cheika as coach or involved in the admin would be good.

 

[Derpus]

I’m sure Cheika has a little time on his hands. Wouldn’t be bad to have him involved.
Sadly I would guess that Ewen McKenzie is forever lost to Australian rugby. It might be the single biggest loss to the code here in my adult lifetime. One of many big stuff ups over time.
Cheika as coach or involved in the admin would be good.

The last decade really has been a tour de force of unmitigated managerial incompetence from just about everyone involved in rugby, hey. Bouncing from one completely mindboggling fuck up to the next, a direct correlation with the collapse of on-field performances. At every level and from every union.

Any sign that someone might know how to do their fucking job and a lynch-mob of self interested scumbags gets together and has them sacked to hide their own incompetence.

These fluffybunnys make the late stage Soviet Union look like a well oiled machine.

 

[Braveheart81]

This is all pretty disappointing. I think Penney has been hard done by but by the same token, perhaps his position was also untenable. The squad is nowhere near good enough but I have also heard third hand that the standards accepted at training were nowhere near good enough.

The thing that must change is that Roger Davis needs to move on. NSWRU needs new leadership at the helm to get the Waratahs back on course.

Davis' tenure has been long, most of his public statements have been gaffes and the team has gradually fallen into a massive hole. He needs to stand aside and let someone else take control.

 

[Members Section]

How on earth did the board/HP think they could possibly improve? they let over 200 test caps go just in the forwards including the last 2 captains refused to replace them with any leadership or spend money. The bloke they put in charge to lead them around the park plays a half of footy.

Some of the decisions have been insane. Playing in stadiums over an hour away from where all fans are from & no one is going.

 

[fatprop]

Penny gets in late last year to aus due to work requirements; and then they "surprisingly" looked crap in the Super Rugby

But they actually looked much better structured when the AUS Super Rugby got started, and then they lose a shit load of experience and have no $$ to replace them.

But it is "Penny's" fault that a team still wearing name tags and lacking serious experience isn't firing and lacks coherence ............................................. ffs

I realise it is the easiest solution for the clowns trying to manage this mess but faaaark

 

[kiap]

Im sure he could back out of an MLR contract easily. Wouldn't surprise me if he had a clause to go if offered

But he's seen the goings on. Why step into a bag of snakes?

The playing talent still has some potential, but he'd be wasting his time unless the layer above has been scrubbed and the flush button pressed.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

But he's seen the goings on. Why step into a bag of snakes?

The playing talent still has some potential, but he'd be wasting his time unless the layer above has been scrubbed and the flush button pressed.

He's also on a pretty good thing in LA. Working with Hoiles and Freier with which he has mentioned are good friends of his. He's living in Venice Beach. On what would be a fair salary and his very own F45 franchise without the need to fork out something like $150k. Why would he return the cluster**** that is NSW Rugby at present.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

This is all pretty disappointing. I think Penney has been hard done by but by the same token, perhaps his position was also untenable. The squad is nowhere near good enough but I have also heard third hand that the standards accepted at training were nowhere near good enough.

The thing that must change is that Roger Davis needs to move on. NSWRU needs new leadership at the helm to get the Waratahs back on course.

Davis' tenure has been long, most of his public statements have been gaffes and the team has gradually fallen into a massive hole. He needs to stand aside and let someone else take control.

Not only that. But there needs to be serious restructure of the organisation and quite frankly the entire grassroots and player pathways connected to the org.

 

[fatprop]

I would actually like to see the board move on, the new board employ a director of rugby and have an actual plan as to a style of rugby, player retention etc. that the coaches and players commit to and player scouting are working towards

 

[dru]

He was treated appalling by the NSWRU/Waratahs and I think he's made it plain that he wants nothing to do with Australian rugby. And I don't blame him at all.

As much as I look back to the Link era with incredible fondness, his coaching skillset is hardly current. I could see him in a "Director of Rugby" style role, but not HC. Even if he was interested.

 

[Froggy]

I don't think Link is any chance. Jones, if we could afford him (which we can't) has a funny sort of record. He started well with the Wallabies, then all turned to shit, as it has done with England, and the less said about his stint with the Reds the better. Cron has been successful at the lower tier, but hasn't had a HC role at this level. Probably a good option, but a bit of a gamble. Cheika, if he was interested (and I've seen nothing to suggest he is) would probably be the ideal fit. His record with Leinster, the Tahs and the Wallabies would suggest he's very good at picking up a team that's down and lifting them, but after that he needs to move on. Bears a strong resemblance to the Tahs situation.

 

[Finsbury Girl]

It was mentioned in that other Roar article but I genuinely believe that the NRC has helped Qld get where we are today. I am certainly not saying we are the best team and ultimately I reserve judgement on how we have progressed until we play some NZ provinces however in the very least we have a good young squad with a little bit of depth and a few years of football under our belts. That depth is almost entirely as a result of the NRC - chucking young men in rep football with good coaching really does make a massive difference. Plus the standard of grade footy in Brisbane has really improved immeasurably, I'm pretty sure I would see the same in the Shute Shield if I managed to get down to Coogee Oval more.

It is so sad that the NSWRU couldn't find a way to bring all of its stakeholders together to embrace the NRC.

NSW has bags of talent, somehow you need to make the kids I see down at QP each week to want to play for NSW instead of bugger off to the nags.

The final note, it is no secret that the QRU has had massive problems over the years, it has turned this around, made the structural changes it needed, implemented plans and stuck with them. This includes betting on Brad and giving him the support team he needed (Jim McKay) and having his back. I don't think it is coincidence that the 2 best performing teams have young ish coaches but old wise heads supporting them (Laurie at the Nags).

 

[kiap]

Did Tim Gavin and Phil Waugh part ways with the board over this? Fair do's if so.

 

[John S]

Im sure he could back out of an MLR contract easily. Wouldn't surprise me if he had a clause to go if offered

From what I've seen I don't think he's a guy to back out of a contract (unless there's those times he did) but I think he's off the table until his MLR contract is done.

Realistically though - he's got a good contract there, he'd have to be insane to give that up to coach at the Tah's.

 

[Sheepie]

This article from Darren Walton is probably my favourite on what's going on at Waratahs https://www.theroar.com.au/2021/03/28/waratahs-facing-all-time-low/

"After five straight ugly defeats, Rob Penney says he needs more than the backing of the NSW Rugby board to save the Waratahs from sinking to an unprecedented low. He needs targeted recruiting."

Instead, they sacked him.

“We need resources and we need to strategically recruit in a couple of areas so the organisation can move forward more quickly than just relying on the youthful guys to come through,” Penney said.

Instead, they sacked him.

Penney didn’t want to make excuses but he said after 20 minutes the Waratahs “basically (had) a colts pack out there”.

“The reality of that is the repercussions are on the whole team because our set-piece isn’t dominating and it’s never going to be able to dominate with the youthfulness and lack of experience,” he said.

“It doesn’t mean they’re bad footballers. It just means they’re not mature enough to compete yet at this level.

Instead, they sacked him.

Even the opposition coach was on Penney's side.

“It was brutal,” Thorn said, urging the NSW Rugby board to “play the long game” with Penney like the Reds did with him during their own rebuild.

Instead, they sacked him.

 

[Sheepie]

I don't think Link is any chance. Jones, if we could afford him (which we can't) has a funny sort of record. He started well with the Wallabies, then all turned to shit, as it has done with England, and the less said about his stint with the Reds the better. Cron has been successful at the lower tier, but hasn't had a HC role at this level. Probably a good option, but a bit of a gamble. Cheika, if he was interested (and I've seen nothing to suggest he is) would probably be the ideal fit. His record with Leinster, the Tahs and the Wallabies would suggest he's very good at picking up a team that's down and lifting them, but after that he needs to move on. Bears a strong resemblance to the Tahs situation.

Didn't Link have a huge falling out with Waratahs? Even if they do completely restructure / replace the board etc, I don't think he has a chance. Even though he's the Tahs coach I've liked the most in "recent" times.

Cheika, would he return to the Tahs? Left on good terms due to promotion to Wallabies. But maybe what he did there, especially at his final RWC may have soured too many people?

Eddie Jones is a different coach than he was in early 2000's. Much improved. I'd be OK with him coming onboard now. Hated him at the time he was Wallabies coach.

Cron I'm not familiar enough with but I see nothing but praise everywhere I look. I'd be happy with him being brought in too.