Waratahs boss denies rift within senior ranks

Waratahs boss Paul Doorn has denied the team is in crisis as rumours circulate of an apparent rift at the top.

Waratahs coach Rob Penney will start the season under pressure Picture: Getty Images

NSW Rugby chief executive Paul Doorn has denied the Waratahs are a team in crisis as rumours continue to circulate around an apparent rift between head coach Rob Penney and the franchises’ former general manager of ­professional rugby and elite ­pathways, Tim Rapp.

There was a respectful announcement last week of Rapp’s decision to move on to a different stage of his career, working with a reputable school, and he remains at the Tahs doing handover ­duties until Tuesday. Attempts were made to contact him but were unsuccessful. It is understood there have been significant differences between him and Penney over the running of the Waratahs side.

The Tahs made a miserable start to what was the standard part of the 2020 season, winning only one of six matches leading up to their 14-47 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra on March 15, the final Super Rugby fixture played in Australia.

Following the pandemic-enforced break, they again struggled early in the opening rounds of the Super Rugby AU series but battled on strongly as Penney’s coaching style was embraced and finished in joint third position with the Rebels on 19 points with four wins from eight games. Only the Western Force who were invited to join the competition late and struggled for match conditioning, finished below them.

Doorn refused to comment on whether the organisation considered removing Penney at the end of last season.

“I’m not suggesting in any shape or form that it was contemplated (moving Penney on) but we did look at all scenarios,” Doorn told The Australian. “We have invested heavily in the coach and we are backing him and making sure he has everything he needs for this year.”

Still, Penney is no coaching rookie. He knows what awaits him if the side does not improve this season.

The club has lost its core of ­experienced players, with Test players Rob Simmons and Ned Hanigan having joined overseas clubs, Michael Hooper having taken his sabbatical in Japan, and Wallabies prop Tom Robertson moving to the Western Force. It was Robertson’s comments on his departure, repeated last month in Perth, that indicated all was not well at the Waratahs.

“I wasn’t that happy at the Waratahs to be honest,” Robertson said. “There’s a lot of off-field issues at the Waratahs. I love the players there. The playing group is amazing. But just coming here, it’s a breath of fresh air.”

Doorn admitted he was surprised at Robertson’s comments.

“That was a strange one,” he said. “I know Tom pretty well. Tom left for reasons that gave him greater career opportunities so, yeah, I was disappointed that he would say that.”

There were, as well, personnel changes, with Mark Bell — father of new Test prop Angus Bell — being let go from his part-time role as scrum coach, with Penney and assistant coach Matt Cockbain taking charge of the set piece, while former acting chief executive Philip van Schalkwyk had returned to the organisation in the unusual dual roles of chief financial officer and Waratahs team manager.

The widespread expectation is that the Tahs will do it tough this year, with a playing roster in which Jack Dempsey, who has played only 12 Tests and was not considered at all by Wallabies coach Dave Rennie last season, looming as NSW’s most experienced player. Doorn, however, stressed that the organisation had high hopes for this season.

“You could not sit here and say that a win-loss ratio doesn’t matter … 100 per cent it matters,” he said. “But what we are looking for is improvement across the park. So we are looking to those who played well last year to do even better this year. We are looking for the young kids who, if they get the opportunity to step up.”

He was at a loss to explain why people who had every reason to hope for NSW success this season were expressing concern at the state of the organisation.

“If people have issues they can always come and talk to me about that but I think some people are reading a bit too much into it,” Doorn said. “You have to take into consideration the enormity of the financial implication for people last year and the uncertainty going into this year.”