Marinos praises Waratahs revival but coach Coleman isn’t satisfied yet

Rugby Australia boss Andy Marinos has praised the Waratahs’ transformation this season but as much as NSW coach Darren Coleman is enjoying plenty of pats on the back, he remains unsatisfied ahead of a crunch quarter-final across the ditch.

As the Waratahs’ 2021 season began spiralling out of control, Marinos was quizzed about the team’s predicament, just weeks before coach Rob Penney got the sack.

Waratahs head coach Darren Coleman and assistant Pauli Taumoepeau. Credit: Brook Mitchell

“The Waratahs have been struggling this year and that’s obviously a concern for everyone,” Marinos said in March last year.

Fifteen months on, the boys in sky blue will feature in their first Super Rugby finals match since 2018 when they face the Chiefs in Hamilton on Saturday afternoon. After a winless season last year, NSW registered eight wins from 14 games in the regular season.

The Waratahs are one of three Australian teams vying for a semi-final spot this week. All will start as underdogs, with the Queensland Reds up against the Crusaders on Friday night before the Brumbies host the Hurricanes on Saturday in Canberra.

“Going into these finals, I’m really optimistic that we could have some upsets this weekend,” Marinos told the Herald.

Michael Hooper at Waratahs training in Daceyville.Credit: Brook Mitchell

“We’ve seen what Darren has done with effectively the same Waratahs squad, bar one or two players, and it has been really good. I think the coaching in the environment and getting the players to play together … has been good. They’ve been a real surprise package throughout the season.

“We expected the Brumbies to be solid and deliver well. They have been consistent bar the last couple of weeks. The Reds have been hurt by injuries at the wrong time.”

Since Super Rugby began in 1996, the Waratahs have never won a finals match away from home. Against the Chiefs, their record has been average in recent years, with five straight losses since 2017. Despite huge improvements in the past 12 months, Coleman is hungry for more success.

“We’re full tilt … and I won’t be satisfied if we don’t win this Saturday,” Coleman said. “I’m sure a few weeks after the season I may look back and think there was positives. I’m not going to go and smile if we lose because we had a good year. We’ve got to be good for 80 minutes.”

Harry Johnson-Holmes returns to the Waratahs’ starting XV this week.Credit: Brook Mitchell

The Waratahs arrived in Hamilton on Wednesday and trained on Thursday. During the session, returning tight-prop Harry Johnson-Holmes was put to the test against Angus Bell and given the green light.

“We gave him three different loose-heads to scrum against and he pulled up fine,” said forwards coach Pauli Taumoepeau.

Asked if the pressure was all on the Chiefs, who finished in third spot, second-rower Jed Holloway said NSW would relish their underdog status in enemy territory.

“They’re a great side. We’ll take the underdog status,” Holloway said. “These opportunities don’t come around often. We can’t afford to be happy with our year and look ahead to building. You need to make the most of what we’ve got in front of us.”

Taumoepeau says finals time is when Coleman thrives. In the past five years he’s helped Warringah, Gordon and the LA Giltinis to titles in their respective competitions.

“I view DC [Coleman] as the play-off king,” Taumoepeau said. “Wherever he goes, they seem to make play-offs and win things.”

Watch every match of the Super Rugby Pacific on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Quarter Finals this week with Crusaders v Reds (Friday 4.30pm AEST), Chiefs v Waratahs (Saturday 2pm), Blues v Highlanders (Saturday 4.40pm) and Brumbies v Hurricanes (Saturday 7.15pm). All streaming ad-free, live and on demand only on Stan Sport.