'Drop in and have a beer with them': Coleman's next goal for Waratahs as coach backs Wallabies' World Cup plan

Pressure? Not in Darren Coleman’s books.

NSW Waratahs chief executive Paul Doorn wasn’t exactly joking about their top four aspirations in next year’s Super Rugby Pacific when he made way for his head coach to address the media shortly after noon on Wednesday.

“No pressure,” he quipped, moments after unveiling the Waratahs’ brand-new spanking $20 million high-performance facility.

Coleman, the second-year Super Rugby head coach, didn’t back away from it.

“Nar, it’s good,” he responded, when immediately asked to comment on his boss’s parting words.

“You’ve got to set goals and they’ve got to be high ones, so it was our goal, it was my goal particularly, so we’re going to have a crack at it.”

It was the best part of 18 months ago that Coleman told reporters that making the finals in his first season in charge was the goal.

“If you’re not aiming to make the top eight in a 12-team competition you’ve got to give up,” he said.

Off the back of a winless 2021 – which saw Rob Penney shown the door mid-way through the season and assistants Chris Whitaker and Jason Gilmore step into the hot seat – many thought that prospect looked fanciful, particularly with only one or two additions returning midway through the season.

Yet, the Waratahs did not just scrape into the finals, they knocked over the Crusaders at home and the Highlanders across the ditch along the way – feats that evaded the star-studded Queensland Reds side, who failed to win a match against New Zealand opposition in 2022.

The relatively successful season, which ended with defeat against the Chiefs across the ditch, came after Coleman delivered a blunt warning on his first day in charge.

Coleman told his young squad that anyone who wanted to remain a Waratah better roll up their sleeves otherwise they would not get to enjoy the swanky new facility being built across from their temporary demountables, which, for the playing group, had been an embarrassing state of affairs.

“You can make positives out of any situation,” Coleman said.

“It suited where we were. We were dead last on the ladder, we had makeshift facilities and I felt the team showed a real tenacity and battler sort of attitude to work to the position we got to. Now, our roster is stronger, our facilities are stronger, our stadiums are stronger, and we want to be stronger.

“Last year the squad gave credibility back to the Waratah brand. We filled out Leichhardt Oval, there were people genuinely wanting to come and watch us, so the ones here have earned to be here again.”

NSW Waratahs coach Darren Coleman has backed the Wallabies’ World Cup planning measures, while adding that he will “feel” whether or not the franchise is succeeding on their goal based on whether the streets of Moore Park are busy. Photo: Getty Images

Challenges await.

How he deals with the expectation of delivering results is something that will test him.

As will the standdown policy issued by Rugby Australia, with Super Rugby franchises asked to rest players of national interest for us to three games.

But Coleman believes everything should be done to ensure the Wallabies are given every opportunity to succeed during next year’s World Cup season.

“As the Waratahs coach, you wish you had your players every week. But for the greater good, I know if I was in their boots, it would be a similar mindset,” he said.

“Dave Rennie and the Wallabies, Chris Webb, they’ve been really collaborative; we’ve actually got a meeting tomorrow morning to nut out that.

“Since they’ve been back from tour, we know where everyone stands injury-wise, and we’ll have a collaborative approach on it. As an Aussie and an Australian rugby man, we want to be sitting there in October-November cheering on the Wallabies deep into the World Cup.”

As for January’s pre-season Wallabies camp, which will rob Super Rugby franchises of more precious time ahead of a crucial campaign, Coleman is hopeful as many of his players are called up for the national squad as possible.

“Again, if you’re selfish about it, I want my team as early as I can to prepare for the season,” he said.

“But the flip side of that is I want as many Waratahs in the Wallabies squad, so I’m hoping we’ve got the most up there because it shows our team is producing Wallabies.

“The beauty is, most of the boys from the Wallabies at the moment, they were here last year so we’re not reinventing the wheel with how we play. They became a tight group last year.”

When Coleman was unveiled as Waratahs coach in mid-2021, he said his dream was to have the pubs and bars in the suburbs surrounding the Sydney Football Stadium wearing blue and for the patrons to spill down to watch NSW play. He wanted the community to be proud of the Waratahs.

With the finishing touches being put on Allianz Stadium, the Waratahs were once again forced to play away from their spiritual home.

The Waratahs played in front of a packed crowd against the Blues at Leichhardt Oval on May 28, 2022 in Sydney. Photo: Matt King/Getty Images

But as a measure of their impact across NSW, Coleman put images up on the meeting wall of the Leichhardt hill to serve as a reminder of the progress they were making and the impact they could have in the rugby community.

Asked what he will do to measure the team’s engagement in the community, Coleman said his side will be able to “feel” whether they’re making inroads.

“I might drop in and have a beer with them, you never know,” he quipped.

“We’ll see it as we drive in. That’s what I do remember way back here in 2000, the bus comes in on those streets and there’s nothing better when you’re rolling into the ground and you’re seeing people roll up to the ground or coming down that hill from Paddington in blue, and you’ll feel it.

“Our goal is to fill that place in round one against the Brumbies. You’re not going to get a better day. Local derby, blockbuster, they’ve got a team chock full of Wallabies. If you do have an interest in us, that’s the day to be at – and we’ll perform well on that day and people will want to come back.”