Super Rugby: Waratahs go from chumps to contenders thanks to boardroom beers
FIVE men in a room, sipping beer, telling hard truths, has led to one of the most remarkable revivals in Super Rugby, transforming the NSW Waratahs from chumps into title contenders.
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APRIL 22, 2017, 4pm.
Waratahs chief executive Andrew Hore carries a case of beer and a heavy expression into the club’s Moore Park boardroom.
Sitting there are Waratahs captain Michael Hooper, coach Daryl Gibson, his assistant Nathan Grey, and general manager Tim Rapp.
It’s the day after the club’s most embarrassing defeat, 26-24 to South Africa’s lowly Southern Kings, who have since been cut from the Super Rugby competition.
“It was a low moment in the changerooms after the game,” Rapp said.
“It was one of those moments where we could see in each others’ eyes that we needed to question change.”
And so Hore called the meeting.
“We had a couple of beers, sat in a boardroom, and said ‘What’s going on here, and what are we going to do to resolve this situation?’,” Hore said.
“We knew each other well but in that moment we created a lot of trust, and then we were blatantly honest about the issues that people had.
“That was a great place to start.”
That was after round nine. The Tahs would go on to lose five more games to finish third-last with a record of 4-11, heaping pressure on Gibson to hold on to his job.
Yet in 12 months they’ve surged into the semi-finals, one of the most incredible turnarounds in Super Rugby history.
From that initial meeting in April one thing was clear; hard truths needed to be told.
“The way we moved towards that meeting was that ‘This is not a witch-hunt, this is the inner sanctum and we need to correct these areas’,” Hore said.
“It started a small nucleus of trust that needed to be developed. Everyone in that room had been through tough times and could draw on those.”
It was resolved that every player and staff member of the Waratahs would be interviewed, first by a club representative, and then by an external outfit so they could be sure honest answers were being given.
“Then we needed to get the whole group — players, staff — to a level of personal accountability, that was one of the biggest steps,” Rapp said.
“It was really important for people to understand, we’re not firing shots at everyone here. This is for the benefit of everyone, not just themselves.
“We knew if we got to that level where people would hold themselves and each other accountable, we could trust each other.”
Hore added: “People have this perception about ranting and raving, but ranting and raving wasn’t going to solve the situation, we’ve seen that time and again.
“Some things got dismissed, others got accepted, and having accountability for our own actions was among them.”
The coaching dynamic was looked at.
Grey left to take up a full-time role with the Wallabies, scrum coach Cam Blades was let go, while Simon Cron came on board as Gibson’s assistant.
“It’s not the ability of the coaches involved but the dynamic that can often be missed,” Hore said.
“Cronny is good for Daryl, Daryl’s good for Cronny, [attack coach] Chris Malone adds to that with his personality,” Hore said.
“During this season we identified that we had overloaded Daryl, he was stretching himself too thin, so we brought in [Welshman] Steve Tandy who again complements the group.
“The important thing to note here is that we are far from the finished product. We need to be as honest and accountable at the end of this season as we were the last.
“There is no reason we can’t be a Leinster or Crusaders. What’s stopping us? Only us.
“We’re looking to be the best we can be.”
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