Campese should coach the NSW Waratahs

 
Darren Clear Roar Rookie

By , 1 Sep 2012 Darren Clear is a Roar Rookie

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    Campese should coach the NSW Waratahs + enlarge image

    Australia's David Campese escapes a tackle. AP Photo/Brian Little

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    I realise that when most people read the headline above they’ll probably shake their heads and wonder what nonsense may follow.

    But bear with me for a second, as we consider the possibility of the one and only David Campese coaching the NSW Waratahs in 2013.

    Firstly, I would ask that you cast your mind back to the year 2006.

    The Sharks were widely considered the laughing stock of South African rugby and were being tipped by many to be relegated from Super Rugby altogether. A fifth South African team was about to be introduced, and the talk was that one team would be outed every year in a system of promotion and relegation.

    Enter Dick Muir, along with skills and academy coach David Campese, who proceeded to totally change the culture of the side in favour of attacking rugby.

    Within two years, players like Pienaar, Steyn and Pietersen had come through the ranks under Campese’s watchful eye, and the Sharks narrowly lost the Super Rugby final to an illegitimate try after the siren (there was a clear knock on in the lead up).

    That change in culture has lasted until today, and the Sharks are still one of the best attacking sides in Super Rugby. They finished runner up again in the 2012 season.

    Surely there are similarities between the Sharks’ predicament a few years ago and that of the Waratahs now. Why isn’t Campese being mentioned as an option, at least in some capacity? I know he is running his coaching academies internationally at the moment, but he would surely be available for such an important job.

    I think we could even start a push in this direction through The Roar website.

    In my humble opinion, Campese has the runs on the board when it comes to coaching skills, and he would bring about the change in culture that rugby in NSW so desperately needs.

    Also consider this – with David Campese as coach, the Waratahs would be in the papers every day! The man is never short of a quote. Could you think of a better marketing platform? Do you know any rugby fan who wouldn’t be intrigued? I would predict sell outs for the first half of the season at least, and who knows what could happen from there.

    Finally, it would right the historical wrong of one of the greats of Australian Rugby never being involved as much as he should have since his retirement.

    While I’m sure the powers that be would never consider someone as opinionated as Campese for the Waratahs gig, I would love to see the conversation started somewhere. We need to get Campese involved again at the highest level of rugby in NSW.

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