Opinion Ian PaytenSenior sports reporter July 18, 2026 — 10:52 a.m. July 18, 2026 — 10:52 a.m. Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO The news that Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps will return to the Waratahs next season produced predictable responses
Opinion
The news that Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps will return to the Waratahs next season produced predictable responses this week.
The next signing has to be Cliffy Palu. Let Jacques Potgieter return. Where is Jeremy Tilse?
Pick a member of the Waratahs’ 2014 title-winning team and their name will appear in this week’s comments. Given Foley and Phipps were stars of that team and are on the downhill slope into their 40s, it was an understandable reflection of the rugby world.
But those blue-blooded fans had another understandable response: what on earth do these signings say about the pathways and development of talent within the Rugby Australia-owned Waratahs?
The anger is justified and a little misplaced. Signing the duo is a decent deal given the circumstances, but how the Waratahs and RA got to this position is of little consequence.
Phipps arrived as a last-minute filler, following a late-round injury to Jake Gordon that will keep him out for the first third of 2027, and the decision to let Michael McDonald go as the third running back on the roster. The rumors that Teddy Wilson is leaving are false, he has re-signed for next season.
Under the terms of his contract, the Tahs have 19-year-old back Angus Grover progressing from the academy to the main team in 2027, and although he is a very promising Junior Wallaby, it is too early in his career for the Super Rugby physique. That risk was exposed by Gordon’s injury. Hence Phipps.
Foley’s return follows two other roster moves at No. 10.
Impressed by his Super Rugby AU form for the Force, then Waratahs coach Dan McKellar signed Max Burey in January for 2027 and, through his contract, rising Sydney University number 10 Joey Fowler was also promoted from the academy to the main team for 2027. Fowler, 21, was the Junior Wallabies’ five-eighth for the previous two campaigns.
Burey, 27, is a Tahs junior and Norths utility who has played 37 Super Rugby matches over four seasons for the Force, mainly off the bench.
That left just one five-eighth spot at the Tahs, and with Jack Debreczeni retiring, McKellar focused on Foley as an experienced playmaker to play and guide.
The problem? That left no room for Jack Bowen, a 22-year-old who spent four seasons at Tahs but had few opportunities. He played 17 games and started five, all at the end of seasons. Overall, Bowen took advantage of those opportunities and finished as the Tahs’ 10th starter this year.
The East center has also been a standout five-eighth in the Shute Shield for several seasons.
But on Friday, Bowen was released and the Waratahs fired him. He is analyzing options abroad.
In some ways, the Waratahs have once again driven out a five-eighth from New South Wales, after years of development and investment.
But surprisingly, Bowen is the latest in a long line. In 2023, the Waratahs had Will Harrison, Ben Donaldson, Tane Edmed and Bowen on the books. Four years later, they are all gone.
Each case has its own story, but the Waratahs’ negligence in letting the 20-something NSW players leave is a constant theme.
It’s time for the bleeding to stop, and that can start with correcting Bowen’s decision, to ensure his NSW-funded development is not enjoyed by any French or Japanese club for the next three years.
With Foley on a one-season deal, the Tahs will again have a big gap in 2028 and early next year will be looking for a NSW pivot with professional experience, or at least Shute Shield dominance. They have both at Bowen, and the Waratahs can avoid the criticism they receive with Foley’s return by returning to Bowen and agreeing a deal for 2028.
The other step to swallowing the pride the Waratahs (read: Rugby Australia) should take is to pick up the phone and speak to another 2014 alumnus: coach Michael Cheika.
It is incredible that RA is not in talks with Cheika about the possibility of him filling the vacancy left by McKellar last month.
Cheika is a thoroughbred gift horse for RA. It would be difficult to find anyone who does not believe that Cheika would change the situation for the Waratah. He’s made a career out of it.
Cheika’s CV will be much better than any of the candidates RA will gather in its search. There’s a reason Test nations and top clubs hit your phone regularly.
Influential Waratahs players are even lobbying internally for Cheika.
For some reason, the risk-averse types at RA are reluctant to consider the Cheika package, which is seen as unmanageable and not “aligned” with the steady, process-driven ethos of RA’s top brass.
A lot of it is stereotyped. Cheika is not the wild and exalted man of yesteryear. Surely he would insist on being chief of the Waratah, but that is exactly what is needed.
In their trajectory, the Waratahs are about to fall off the sporting map in New South Wales. Seeing full stands for Wallabies matches in Sydney should be more of a source of pain for RA than a pat on the back, knowing that three-quarters of those same rugby fans are not interested in watching the Waratahs.
RA has spent huge sums of money on New South Wales headliners – Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, incoming NRL recruit Angus Crichton – but without success the Waratahs won’t be a hot ticket and the investment will be wasted.
Cheika is obvious as the best option to regain success and re-attract an apathetic audience. Frame it with a succession plan, if the nerves feel too strong. Install Stephen Hoiles or Chris Latham as assistant and schedule a transfer within two years.
There’s a reason people remember Phipps and Foley and make jokes about 2014. That was the last time the State really invested in the Waratahs.
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect through X either email.From our partners
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