Waratahs’ Foley slams rugby critics
Waratahs captain Rocky Elsom. Photo AAP Images/Greg WOOD
Related coverage
NSW Waratahs rugby coach Michael Foley has slammed suggestions his players try harder for Australia and says the tougher his job has become, the more it has appealed to him.
On Tuesday, Foley presented to the Waratahs Rugby board a review of a season to date, which has gleaned just four wins from 14 games.
Waratahs Rugby chief executive Jason Allen told AAP on Thursday that a recommendation from the board was imminent.
Foley said he was focusing on the immediate future of the team rather than his own situation, when asked if he was confident he would retain his position into next year.
“All I’m thinking about is the next two games. Whatever happens after that is down to the board and I’m not being presumptuous either way,” Foley said.
“I do love coaching this side and I think the challenges we’ve faced this year will make us stronger into the future, but they are the questions that the board will have to answer.
“I think the opportunity to coach this particular group of players, the harder it’s got this year, the more I’ve found the job appealing, which sounds a little strange, because I’d do anything for a few more wins.”
The Waratahs dominated selections in the Wallabies team that swept Six Nations champions Wales in the three-Test series, but resume their Super Rugby campaign on Saturday week against the Brumbies, striving to break a six-match losing streak.
“I think there, at times, has been an inference that our players try harder for Australia than they do for us. That just doesn’t wash with me,” Foley said.
“Our players try hard all year round – the statistics would support that.
“What they’ve been doing for us they went and did for Australia and combinations worked well.
“Our players will keep doing what they’ve been doing all year. They will keep trying hard.”
With Test winger Lachie Turner back playing club rugby after a long-term injury, Foley said he faced some potentially-good selection conundrums, with all his major backs available for the first time this season.
Foley praised the contribution of departing skipper Rocky Elsom, who will head to Japan after making just a handful of appearances in his ill-fated and injury-plagued second stint with NSW.
“He had a bit of bad luck in last year’s World Cup with his physical status, but he’s invested a lot of time and energy into the team and helping in the background,” Foley said.
© AAP 2013
Have you seen the new Wallabies jersey? Want one of your own? We're giving away a brand new 2013 Wallabies jersey to one lucky Roarer, click here to go in the running to win.
- Explore:
- Michael Foley, Rugby Union, Super Rugby, Waratahs
June 29th 2012 @ 1:27am
Marky mark said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:27am | Report comment
Elsom was a legend. Sad to see him leave he should head back to Ireland cos he’d never have to buy himself another Guinness again.
June 30th 2012 @ 8:38am
Bakkies said | June 30th 2012 @ 8:38am | Report comment
There is no room for him at any of the Irish provinces.
June 29th 2012 @ 4:02am
Kuruki said | June 29th 2012 @ 4:02am | Report comment
Well there you go. Losing is more appealing to him then winning. You are the weakest link ………Goodbye
June 29th 2012 @ 4:17am
Deathriding the Tahs said | June 29th 2012 @ 4:17am | Report comment
So Foley likes losing and reckons the talk is the players try harder for the wallabies. WRONG. The talk is your approach and coaching does not bring the best out of a talented group of players. Fall on your sword mate you aint up to it.
June 29th 2012 @ 4:15am
King of the Gorgonites said | June 29th 2012 @ 4:15am | Report comment
Is this guy for real?
June 29th 2012 @ 5:49am
The Werewolf said | June 29th 2012 @ 5:49am | Report comment
For me it comes down to the speed of the Waratahs play which is not fast enough when they need it to be.
They also would kill for a no 9 of Genia’s calibre. Ideally that could possibly solve all their problems.
They have missed Burgess more than they’ve missed Beale I feel. They’ve missed Beale as well though!
June 29th 2012 @ 6:13am
mania said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:13am | Report comment
no wonder. the more they lose the more foley is enjoying himself.
and foley should be pssed off that his charges play better in the wb’s than they do for him. it shows something is wrong in the tahs environment
June 29th 2012 @ 6:46am
p.Tah said | June 29th 2012 @ 6:46am | Report comment
Yes, it shows that the Tahs don’t have 22 test quality players. Every fly half looks better with Genia distributing them the ball.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:15am
formeropenside said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:15am | Report comment
They dont even have 8, really.
June 29th 2012 @ 7:13am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 7:13am | Report comment
p.Tah the lunacy of the Waratahs is shown by the talk of recruiting Jared Waerea-Hargeaves for next year. This has nothing to do with JWH’s quality as he is a tremendous player with a very strong rugby background, but he is a FORWARD. The Waratahs are chock full of high quality forwards and can’t even play the ones they have, while because of weak recruiting/player development/keeping on old stagers they have totally insufficent backs. They should be talking of recruiting backs not forwards. Crazy.
June 29th 2012 @ 8:18am
Brett McKay said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:18am | Report comment
KPM, to be fair, I think most of the talk around Waerea-Hargreaves wasn’t coming from the Waratahs. But I do take your point, regardless…
And I think Foley’s missed the mark here a bit anyway. There’s been very little inference that his players TRY HARDER for the Wallabies at all. There has, however, been plenty of suggestion (and more than a little bit of eupporting evidence) that his players PLAY BETTER for the Wallabies. Effort and Performance are two very different things..
June 29th 2012 @ 8:42am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:42am | Report comment
Brett agree on how hard they try. I remember talking to someone who chose not to go into professional rugby who said that what often distinguished those who did were that they were complete fanatics, totally obsessed with succeeding and far more motivated than their competitors: it was basically their whole life. I think anyone who is able to play at such a high level every week is extremely motivated and will try hard, and that if they don’t perform well it will mostly be for other reasons than effort. Some of these players probably don’t care about anything else except rugby: they’re not just going to get lazy because they’re playing for the Waratahs.
June 29th 2012 @ 8:59am
Brett McKay said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:59am | Report comment
yeah, I’d agree with that KPM, and I’ve seen the same factors in play within cricket circles. Realistically once you get to that First Class level (and I’m not talking cricket specifically now), talent and ability is reasonably even (give or take) and it’s desire and attitude that pushes the best on to higher honours and rewards.
Berrick Barnes for example, I don’t think there’s been many trying harder for the Tahs this year – that’s plain to see in his reaction to not being able to get the pass for that drop goal against the Cheetahs – but it just hasn’t been working for him. I’ve said for a while now I suspect that’s him playing to instruction, but perhaps we’ll never know..
June 29th 2012 @ 9:05am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:05am | Report comment
I remember Johnny Wilkinson saying there were years of his life where he thought and did nothing else aside from training and analysing rugby: one year on Christmas day he took a rare day off and only spent six hours doing kicking practice. He’s well know for this but I’m sure there are plenty of players at Super level even who are just as obsessed.
If for example a player has a low workrate, it’s unlikely to be because he can’t be bothered to do more.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:11am
Jutsie said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:11am | Report comment
I honestly don’t think that the tahs players in the wallaby squad played better for the wallabies than the tahs, except for barnes.
Palu, TPN, Horne, AAC and kepu had all been in good form in the last 3-4 rounds (at least) of super rugby. Robinson was not in good form for the tahs and carried that form into the wallabies too. The only real surprise was barnes but i think alot of it was down to confidence and having a mental break from rugby due to his new born son.
The real issue for the tahs is that there is an ineffective gameplan and a lack of composure. This largely comes down to leadership and coaching (or lack thereof).
June 29th 2012 @ 8:09am
Uncle Argyle said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:09am | Report comment
Well Axel by your rationale if the players are trying as equally as hard for you as they are the Wallabies then it must be 1 of two things as to why NSW are loosing;
1. Your game plan sucks
2. The non Waratahs in the Wallabies are the difference to the team. (I think you should look at point 1 harder)
June 29th 2012 @ 8:52am
Rickety Knees said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:52am | Report comment
The rot started when the Tahs Board sacked McKenzie and installed Hickey – who along with Phil Waugh coined the win ugly phrase and collectively sent the game backwards in NSW. Foley has continued in the same vein – nothing has changed and nothing will unless the Tahs have a Queensland style clean out ,with Cheika as the main new man.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:00am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:00am | Report comment
RK I can’t understand how the Waratahs management could ever have appointed an assistant to such a crucial job. They did it not once, but twice. Neither Hickey nor Foley had experience as the head coach of a top level professional club (nor in Melbourne, had Damien Hill). There are numerous coaches such as Cheika, Steve Meehan and Brian Smith who have gone to Europe and coached English or French or Irish clubs and have proved that they can (or can’t) do it (note, Foley was an assistant in England, not a head coach). With a coach like this you know what you’re getting and that’s crucial for an appointment on which the fate of the franchise rests. With, Hickey, Foley and Hill you’re taking a punt on an insider rather than choosing the best man for the job, with predictably catastrophic results.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:11am
Rickety Knees said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:11am | Report comment
I agree KPM – it is the culture of entitlement that is prevailing at the Tahs – it is this culture that needs to be weeded out.
June 29th 2012 @ 10:45am
Uncle Argyle said | June 29th 2012 @ 10:45am | Report comment
KPM – its a tough call to judge when an assistant coach is ready to make the next step. Surely FOLEY had enough experience as an assistant to do so. When we are under pressure, we revert to what we know best. In Foley, he has reverted to the John Connolly style of low risk field position type rugby. However his troops have not executed the plan accordingly and the opposition have adapted and played a more fluid, ball in hand type rugby that I don’t think the Waratah’s enjoy defending against. I think they enjoy competing with you at a 1st phase type situation. Through poor kicking, options and mistakes the Tah’s have put pressure on themselves and taken themselves away from the game Foley appears to want to play. I can understand his frustrations but he needs to adapt by letting the guys off their leash a little. The Tah’s do have speed and tries in them but I think Foley’s game plan can be too ridgid and costly to NSW of poorly executed.
What the biggest concern is for NSW is not their lack of execution on the paddock, its their near arrogance in reaction to poor performance. They are rock stars in many ways and I think a touch of humility and gratitude towards the Tah’s fans who have stood by them would do the culture of that team a world of good.
June 29th 2012 @ 10:54am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 10:54am | Report comment
UA an assistant coach like Foley should NEVER be promoted to head coach of a Super franchise. If he wants the job he should go somewhere where it is easier to get a position like England or France and show that he is good enough by being head coach there.
This is what Michael Cheika did. He went abroad, got a head coaching position and will now come back to head up either the Force or Waratahs. It’s only once you have seen an assistant as head coach that you know if they can do it as they skills are completely different. An assistant can just be a good technical coach and useless at man-management, broader strategy etc…or he could be great: there’s simply no way of knowing. So Foley, Hill etc…should have done what Cheika, Meehan and Smith have done and gone somewhere they can be head coach to show that they can do it. Only then should someone be appointed. There are only five golden positions to be had in Australia so they should be nearly as competitive as test coaching jobs and require a similar level of proof of ability.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:02am
Uncle Argyle said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:02am | Report comment
Fair enough. Thank god I am not Tah’s supporter then. But as an Australian I do want to see improvement for the benefit of rugby generally.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:06am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:06am | Report comment
UA for me they should boot out Foley and Hill and bring in coaches like Brian Smith and Steve Meehan who have led teams abroad to critical praise. Smith and Meehan are Australian so it’s not a case of flooding the country with foreign coaches but they have actually done something to justify being put in charge of a Super franchise, which Foley and Hill thought beneath them to do. Foley was an assistant at Bath too but unlike Meehan failed to become a head coach.
Whatever it takes Australia should have five outstanding coaches in charge of its teams not five untalented and overpromoted assistants.
June 29th 2012 @ 2:28pm
sittingbison said | June 29th 2012 @ 2:28pm | Report comment
and lets not forget that Richard Graham was appointed from assistant, and he had only been an S15 assistant for a few months.
July 1st 2012 @ 6:43pm
soapit said | July 1st 2012 @ 6:43pm | Report comment
you may be overestimating the pull of a head coach position in australia compared to what they can earn in europe
June 29th 2012 @ 11:16am
formeropenside said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Well, they still get picked for the Wallabies so must be doing something right.
You wont get real change at the Tahs until they dont get featherbedded into Wallaby ranks because of the colour of their jersey.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:20am
Jutsie said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:20am | Report comment
The biggest under-performers in the wallaby pack during the welsh series all wear RED in the regular season.
June 29th 2012 @ 12:30pm
Red Kev said | June 29th 2012 @ 12:30pm | Report comment
So if the Reds play better at Super level and the Waratahs play better at national level what does that say about the coaches? Foley < Deans < McKenzie perhaps?
June 29th 2012 @ 2:22pm
Jutsie said | June 29th 2012 @ 2:22pm | Report comment
Haha don’t put words into my mouth.
June 29th 2012 @ 9:50am
Rough Conduct said | June 29th 2012 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Best thing that could ever happen to the Waratahs and subsequently Australian Rugby, hopefully this is one of Growden’s more accurate slithers of hearsay….
“This week R&M was approached by two successful and cashed-up businessmen with strong rugby and financial backgrounds who are very interested in being involved in the Waratahs – as long as they are owners and have control. That includes having at least a 51 per cent interest in the province. If they did come in, this would dramatically improve the financial state of the Waratahs, who have been hit by dwindling crowds and lack of interest after six straight losses. Sponsorship remains a major problem. But if the businessmen get their wish and move in, there is a catch, which will make those at Moore Park nervous. They want a clean start and a complete revamp of the troubled organisation. And they have plenty of backers, who are seeking a similar solution.”
June 29th 2012 @ 10:22am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 10:22am | Report comment
Brett have a look at RC’s post ‘as long as they are owners and have control.’ That’s the key I was getting at earlier.
I fear though that the Waratahs will tell them they are happy to have their money but only if they have no control whatsoever and then will be shocked when they leave.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:01am
Rough Conduct said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:01am | Report comment
Haha, you are probably right. I was thinking of Brett McKay’s comments too when I read this.
Would love to see this happen though, let private ownership control our 5 pro teams and let the state unions channel all of their energy into squabbling over club rugby or something, maybe they would even get excited enough to come up with the semi-pro NPC which we desperately need.
June 29th 2012 @ 11:11am
kingplaymaker said | June 29th 2012 @ 11:11am | Report comment
RC if all five teams were privately owned that would have two immediate and gigantic results:
a) the ARU would suddenly have millions on its hands that it now has to spend on the provinces in order to bid for young players, meaning it can keep all those Australian schoolboys who currently go off to league.
b) huge money from the private owners as well to bid for teenage talent for their teams, meaning more is kept and discovered.
There is of course catch 22 to this. Where would all these new players go with so few teams to take them? But there is of course an answer:
c) With the millions the ARU has on its hands it can pay for more teams, especially as these too would be PRIVATELY OWNED. These new teams would have players ready to fill them from the word go, because the ARU and private owners of the existing teams would have brought so much more talent into the game.
June 29th 2012 @ 1:02pm
Brett McKay said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:02pm | Report comment
It will certainly be interesting to see how this plays out guys, for sure. Either way, there’s still only been a few of these types of approaches, and they’ve all only come as a result of the ARU changing it’s policy for the Rebels. There’s still never been any flood of offers previously..
June 29th 2012 @ 1:05pm
Brett McKay said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:05pm | Report comment
also, there’s some key words in this story too:
“This week R&M was approached by two successful and cashed-up businessmen with strong rugby and financial backgrounds who are very interested in being involved in the Waratahs…”
If they’re so interested in being involved, why would they approach a journo and not the club directly??
June 29th 2012 @ 1:32pm
Rough Conduct said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
Maybe just testing the waters, see what sort of reaction they get once their interest has been reported in the media. There is obviously no solid evidence here, but I do believe potential owners are out there. They will not be the big personalities like Palmer or Boudjellal, but they are out there.
Also, how can you be sure that – “there’s still only been a few of these types of approaches” and “There’s still never been any flood of offers previously”??
Does the ARU make all expressions of interest available to the media?
June 29th 2012 @ 1:58pm
Brett McKay said | June 29th 2012 @ 1:58pm | Report comment
as I said yesterday RC, if there had been a flood of offers, the ARU would’ve changed their policy on private ownership well before the Rebels came about. Don’t forget, they only moved on regulating third party payments after the Firepower debacle in Perth…
June 29th 2012 @ 8:27pm
MR said | June 29th 2012 @ 8:27pm | Report comment
KPM take off your Rose tinted glasses, private ownership can and does lead to Wasp’s type situations in UK where commercial ownership o on of tje great premiership teams is destroyed by commercial ownerhip issues, the reality is that private owners will put ther own interests first where as state or country ownership means that rugby’s welfare is ultimately a concern of owners