‘Couldn’t pass up’: Tahs sign veteran duo in shock move
Darren Walton |
The NSW Waratahs are venturing back to the future in pursuit of Super Rugby Pacific success, signing ageing playmakers Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps for the 2027 season.
Sure to raise eyebrows, 36-year-old Foley and Phipps, 37, will return to Daceyville some seven seasons after they last took the field together for the Waratahs and Wallabies.
The pair were the halves in the Waratahs’ one and only Super Rugby championship-winning team in 2014 under Michael Cheika.
But their recruitment, driven by Rugby Australia as the club chases a new coach to replace Dan McKellar, can only be viewed as a short-term fix to the Waratahs’ ongoing search for quality playmakers.
The Tahs released 22-year-old flyhalf Jack Bowen, who was presented with few opportunities during a three-season stint, after missing the 2025 and 2026 Super Rugby Pacific finals.
Fellow five-eighth Tane Edmed left at the end of last year, but struggled for game time at the ACT Brumbies this season.
Foley has spent the past five seasons with Kubota Spears in Japan, where he led the club to three finals and a first-ever League One championship in 2023.
After also departing the Waratahs at the end of 2019, Phipps plied his trade with London Irish in the Premiership before joining Foley in Japan, playing four seasons with Green Rockets Tokatsu.
The veteran duo, who made their respective Super Rugby debuts in 2011, boast a combined 253 Super Rugby appearances and 147 Tests for the Wallabies.
Their paths have regularly converged throughout their careers, from playing Shute Shield for Sydney University, to winning a silver medal as Australian Sevens teammates at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Foley currently sits eighth on the all-time Super Rugby scorers’ list with 1095 points.
“I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to rejoin the Waratahs for 2027,” Foley said.
“I feel very lucky to have the chance to finish back at the club where it all started. I can’t wait to meet the playing group and everyone involved and get to work.”
Phipps said he was also “super excited” to be back.
“The chance to return and give something back to the club and the players is an opportunity I simply couldn’t pass up,” he said.
Waratahs high-performance director BJ Mather insists Foley and Phipps retain a fierce appetite for success.
“They’re both outstanding professionals who were there for one of the most memorable chapters in our club’s history,” Mather said.
“We’re excited to welcome them back to help shape the next one.”
AAP