Darren Coleman’s Waratahs didn’t just leave Fiji with another gut-wrenching defeat over the weekend, they also copped a cheeky serve on the way out.
Moments after witnessing Kemu Valetini – the younger brother of Wallabies star Rob – snapped a field-goal to deliver the Drua a famous golden-point win, their coach Mick Byrne rubbed salt into the wound by wearing a Chicago Bulls cap into his press conference.
“We may not have played like the Chicago Bulls, and we may not have won like the Chicago Bulls, but we won,” Byrne said.
“That’s the most important thing.”
Byrne didn’t address why he was sporting the cap, but his team media manager Shane Hussein didn’t leave anything to the imagination when he posted on Twitter a snippet of the coach wearing the cap and an old article where Coleman had downplayed their 2022 win over the Drua by saying “it wasn’t like we beat the Chicago Bulls”.
Suffice it to say that Coleman’s comments stung.
After four straight defeats to the Waratahs, it was the Drua’s first win over NSW.
Former All Blacks winger turned pundit Jeff Wilson said Coleman’s past comment, which likely was said as a reminder for the Waratahs not to get carried away after a winless 2021, was clearly used as motivation throughout the week.
“He’s not just wearing his heart on his sleeve, he’s holding a grudge! And you use that,” Wilson said on Sky’s The Breakdown.
“When you’re a coach you’ll find whatever works to get a little extra out of your team. The players who were involved would have remembered that. But that’s gold. That’s outstanding.
“(The result) wasn’t convincing in the end, he would’ve liked it to have been easier. I wonder if the hat was sitting there and he was going ‘Oh dear, this might not get used today’.”
Coleman, meanwhile, was left to rue another match that was there for the taking.
“It’s pretty painful,” Coleman said. “We’ve had three weeks in a row now. We’ve been riding the hump. We were just not good enough to pull it off.
“It was really hard.”
While Tane Edmed’s botched field goal effort during the golden-point passage made the lowlight reel, moments earlier he protruded a phenomenal diving effort to likely deny the home side a matchwinning try during the final seconds of regular time.
Later, the Waratahs’ lineout and scrum crumbled to hurt their chances of leaving Lautoka with four vital competition points.
“We had more than enough opportunities in the last 20 minutes to win the match and we just weren’t good enough,” Coleman added.
“I don’t think it was so much the decision-making – we just didn’t execute. We got jumbled up in that lineout as well, which lost us the ball.
“There were some key moments that when you’re in close games you’ve just got to be a bit more clinical and accurate.”
The three-point loss came after consecutive defeats to New Zealand opponents, the Highlanders and Blues, on home soil.
The third straight narrow defeat was another nail in Coleman’s coffin, as the third-year coach seeks a contract extension.
“I think we’ve got parts of our game in order. We just sort of shoot ourselves in the foot a bit with some simple errors at crucial times. How many A-zone turnovers we must have had in the second 20 of the first half,” Coleman said.
“To close out the game, we’ve just got to be more clinical and be able to hold the ball for longer periods and try and extract a penalty or a try at the end of it.”
The Waratahs take on the Rebels on Friday night in Sydney, with both teams desperate for a win. The Drua host the Western Force on Saturday.
Rugger
Roar Rookie
I think everyone should moderate a bit.....the Tahs have not been pounded off the Park......could just hv easily been 3 wins, and the other teams sad about a close loss. (Neutral supporter BTW)
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
Narcissus would be a great nickname for a a winger.
Colin Fenwick
Roar Rookie
There has probably been 3 previous games between these teams since the comment from Coleman. He may have a different cap for each opposition team, which he hopes to trot out in future press conferences.
jeznez
Roar Guru
DC season one had a good vibe going on and a couple of people may have gotten over excited. We’ll have to trust ATW’s notes that they are the same few calling for his head now. I think the vast majority didn’t call for him for the Wallabies back then and similarly want him judged at season’s end/end of his contract. Anyway, am off to follow Narcissus’s lead and stare lovingly at my own reflection.
CW Moss
Roar Rookie
When I was with ‘Which Bank” many years ago, we learnt that sacking people was not always the best answer. There’s a lot of risk in selecting the replacement and worse, the problem might the selectors or the directors!. You can always get help for the current guy, it’s cheaper and just might work.
Fin
Roar Rookie
There's probably a time limit on not beating the Tahs for all coaches!
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
The Rebels rebelling might preoccupy the RA occupiers. DC might not attract any fire. He’s improved the culture at least as well as Thorn did for mine.
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
There were a few I remember Jez, back when Coleman was a brand new broom.
Khun Phil
Roar Rookie
The Drua were also playing under a penalty advantage right in front of the sticks,so there was no pressure on Valetini. The hat thing seems pretty childish to me and something I thought Mick would not do,especially when you only just scraped a win.
Grumpy
Roar Rookie
I just read in SMH that Rugby Australia will participate in the review of Coleman’s performance. I suppose they must as they now own the Tahs but past performance does not inspire confidence. If the palaver around the Rebels has become a bit of a circus, then this might be sideshow alley outside the big top.
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Of course not!
jeznez
Roar Guru
I thought most of the calls were for McKellar, Larkham or Cheika. Don’t recall many for Coleman. At least not from anyone serious.
Dualcode
Roar Rookie
Sure was a nice shade being thrown at Darren, but anyways Mick "BURN!" still needs to figure out how to get the Drua winning away games more often.
Nick Maguire
Roar Rookie
Fin, that was my thought too. If TE had knocked the droppy over would he have chucked it back in the bag until next time, maybe? Just how long would you carry it? Is there a time limit on that sort of thing? Good on him though, cheekier than I expected from him! Just lucky people could still remember it! :laughing:
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
“ Don’t they have mirrors in Sydney?” Can’t speak for all Ankle, but I have one. It’s cracked, but it works. There’s more than 5 million people/mirrors here – most dont follow rugby, many dont even know what it is, others think it’s the same as NRL …but i digress Back to the Coach Selection Meeting – I was one excited by early Coleman. Im still hopeful, althpugh now more sober in expectation. i hear a rumour that theres a push for Cheika coming up from the Randwick end of the Moore Park tunnel. if true, i wonder what day job these people have. They may know tunnels but they cant read rooms (or learn from history) For mine, DC is going okay (which is what I said about Rennie just before that old tunnel door creaked open).
Ankle-tapped Waterboy
Roar Rookie
(Checks notes) Yes this is the same Coleman who was being touted for Wallabies honours (checks notes again) and it appears that the folk doing the touting are the same lot as the ones who are putting the boot in to him these days. Don't they have mirrors in Sydney?
jimmy jones
Roar Rookie
Valentini played footy at school in melbs so knows his way around kicking.. a shame for TE though, it wouldve helped him move past the highlanders game.
Popeye
Roar Rookie
Tahs are almost there, shame Coleman will probably get sacked, they’ll have a worse season next year and three years from now they’ll be putting the next coach under pressure to perform. The cycle continues…
cs
Roar Guru
He'll get there, albeit likely a little spooked at the mo.
Fin
Roar Rookie
No that game should have already been won. Likewise the Highlanders. Tane has been good this year but he’ll know that a 10 ready for the next level makes those pressure kicks. He’ll be disappointed hook he doesn’t let it get in his head.