Waratahs reward coach Daryl Gibson with one-year extension

Daryl Gibson’s contract as Waratahs head coach has been extended to the end of 2020, but talented assistant Simon Cron’s future at the club is now looking vulnerable.

Daryl Gibson will take charge of the Tahs for another season.

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Daryl Gibson’s contract as Waratahs head coach has been extended to the end of 2020, but talented assistant Simon Cron’s future at the club is now looking vulnerable with overseas poachers circling.

Gibson was facing the sack midway through last year, and there were strong suggestions Cron could take over.

Yet Gibson pulled the Waratahs from the brink into the Super Rugby semi-finals and was rewarded with a one-year extension.

Daryl Gibson will take charge of the Tahs for another season.

On the eve of the 2019 season, NSW decided they wanted him for longer, and handed Gibson an additional year that will see him equal Ewen McKenzie as the longest-serving Waratahs coach in history.

But The Daily Telegraph understands that Cron, NSW’s forwards coach, is being courted by New Zealand franchises and Japanese clubs, given he is off contract at the end of the season and is viewed by many as a future Test coach.

Whether Cron has the patience to wait until 2021 to be a Super Rugby head coach at NSW will be an intriguing sub-plot to the Waratahs’ story.

Gibson’s remit is clear; ensure the Tahs remain a title threat every season, but particularly from 2019 to 2020 when their Wallabies-laden roster is set to annihilated as several big names move overseas.

“That’s part of that loyalty the club has shown me, we had a couple of dud years, they stuck with me and believe we’re coming through a selection cycle that has our team in a reasonable position in terms of depth and talent,” Gibson said.

“And then we’re going to go through a period where we’re going to rebuild that after the World Cup, if we sustain the losses we think we will.”

Gibson, who was assistant to Michael Cheika from 2013-15 before taking over as head coach, had a rough start finishing 10th in 2016 and then 16th in 2017, before getting NSW into the top four last year.

Overseas clubs are circling Simon Cron.

With another two seasons, Gibson wants to make the club a perennial title contender.

“Ideal scenario is that we’re vibrant and strong every year, something I’ve talked about continuously with NSW is there should be no reason we shouldn’t be strong every year given the talent pool and resources that are available to us,” Gibson said.

“We need to continue to do a better job of trying to retain a lot of that talent that comes through our schools and clubs and gets picked off by other codes.

“I think we’re doing a better job at retaining a lot of that. We’ve seen that this year with the likes of Will Harris, young player who played trials, was in hot demand by rugby league clubs.

“Not only set that up for the next person but hopefully have success within our own coaching ranks that continues that stability in the club.

Cron led Northern Suburbs to a drought-breaking Shute Shield title. Picture: Troy Snook

“We are a results driven business and we were really satisfied with where we got to last year, and I feel grateful that I’ve been given that opportunity firstly for a season and then the board and chairman and CEO have seen, ‘Hang on, let’s have a longer term vision and keep Daryl on for two more years’.

“And within those two years it’s really clear what we want to achieve. We’ve done an excellent job to date to try to develop the stuff underneath the team around age group development.

“I’m really excited, there’s a great crop of young men coming through our ranks at 18 years of age, helping them on their journey, but also trying to leave this club in a really neat space for someone else to take over.”

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Originally published as Waratahs reward coach Daryl Gibson with one-year extension