Ex-NSW star Peter Hewat tackles his first ‘Waratah week’ in Brumbies colours

A NSW Waratahs-Brumbies showdown in Canberra is nothing new for Peter Hewat. But, after a historic win there as a Waratah, this week Hewat is wearing rival colours.

Peter Hewat carves up the Brumbies in his Waratahs days.

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A NSW Waratahs-Brumbies showdown in Canberra is nothing new for Peter Hewat.

Indeed, the former Waratahs speedster played in the NSW win in the nation’s capital that people still most talk about.

The year was 2005 and the Waratahs had never won a Super Rugby game in Canberra.

Then-Tahs coach Ewen McKenzie decided to shake things up, took the team down the Hume Highway early in the week and occupied Canberra.

NSW players took up residence at the Brumbies’ favourite cafes in Manuka and Kingston and the big blue Waratahs bus was parked visibly around the city.

Brumbies backs coach Peter Hewat.

McKenzie admitted later he was playing mind games and they worked. The Waratahs broke the drought, won 10-6 and went on to play in the final that year.

“I wasn’t aware of all that happening actually,” Hewat says. “We only learned about it afterwards.”

That same year was a breakout year for Hewat, a former Aussie Sevens star who had been strangely overlooked for Super Rugby.

He was the competition’s highest pointscorer in 2005 with 243 (which remained a Waratahs record until Bernard Foley broke it in 2014) and his 10-try season and 34 points in a single game were also NSW records.

Fast forward 13 years and, after stints in England and Japan, Hewat is back on deck for a Tahs-Brumbies clash in Canberra. Only this time he’s in ACT colours, after returning from Suntory in Japan to join Dan McKellar’s team over summer.

Anything feel different?

“Not really,” Hewat ​says.

The NSW Waratahs “attack bus” in 2005.

“Local derbies are always big games and we​ always knew they were going to be tough battles. It’s no different no matter what colour you’ve got on.”

Time has worn down the sharp edges of the Brumbies-Waratahs rivalry, which was fomented first in Canberra when the ACT side was created in 1996 and pitched themselves as NSW rejects.

Saturday night will be the 31st professional encounter between the two teams and, though there’ll be spite on the night, the camps don’t waste energy on it during the week given the weightier importance of getting “detail” right in a modern game where small mistakes are lethal.

Like 2005, when the Waratahs’ players weren’t even aware of McKenzie’s games.

“On the inside, you don’t get a big feel for it,” Hewat said.

“In the past, it definitely would have been played that way but we have a lot on our plate in terms of our game, tweaking our game and getting that singing, with the style we have brought in this year.

Peter Hewat carves up the Brumbies during his Waratahs days.

“You can probably burn yourself out a bit if you get too emotional, too early. It is getting that detail right at the start of the week.

“Our comp is pretty tight, so you have to get things spot on.

“Emotion-wise, these local derbies look after themselves at the back end. Instinct kicks in.”

Hewat cites Eddie Jones as the biggest influence in his coaching career, which began as a backs coach under the now-England coach at Suntory in 2013.

“Preparation-wise, definitely,” Hewat said.

“Being in the culture over there you need to be well prepared and obviously you need to be quite simple with your messages. Obviously foreign coaches you just need to bring things right back to basics. And that is something I have tried to bring back here.

“Style of play, we had some successful years over there at Suntory so there are some things I brought back. I am really, really enjoying it. It’s great being back in Australia.”

The Brumbies have attempted to evolve their style this year, adding unstructured skill to their set-piece identity. It wobbled early on the road but clicked far better against the Sharks.

“We just felt we needed to have a little bit more balance and be less predictable,” Hewat said.

“We are tracking in the right direction.”

Originally published as Ex-NSW star Peter Hewat tackles his first ‘Waratah week’ in Brumbies colours