Waratahs · History

On 2 August 2014, in front of 61,823 spectators at Stadium Australia in Sydney, the New South Wales Waratahs beat the Crusaders 33-32 to win their first Super Rugby title. Bernard Foley kicked the decisive penalty in the 79th minute, ending a run of near misses that included two lost finals against the same opponent. The Waratahs are the professional team of the New South Wales Rugby Union, based in Sydney, and have played in Super Rugby, the southern hemisphere's leading club competition, since its first season in 1996.

Origins of the New South Wales team

Organised rugby in the state goes back to 1874, when the Southern Rugby Union, later renamed the New South Wales Rugby Union, was formed and staged its first club competition. The first New South Wales representative side took the field in 1882, winning both matches of a series against Queensland under the captaincy of James Brodie of Wallaroo; the same year a New South Wales team made its first tour of New Zealand. The light blue jersey, worn with navy shorts, was adopted in the 1890s after spells in navy, green and maroon. In 1907 several players, Dally Messenger among them, left for the new professional code, a split that gave birth to rugby league in Australia. The 1927-28 touring side, which visited Britain, France and North America and won 24 of its 31 official matches with two draws, was the only New South Wales team styled “Waratahs” until the name, taken from the state flower, was adopted again in 1991.

The Super 12 and Super 14 years

The team finished mid-table in the first Super 12 season in 1996. Its first semi-final came in 2002, after second place in the regular season, and ended in a 51-10 defeat by the Brumbies; earlier that year the Waratahs had lost 96-19 to the Crusaders, the widest margin the competition had seen. Under Ewen McKenzie they reached the 2005 final, lost 35-25 to the Crusaders in Christchurch on 28 May. In 2006 they went down 16-14 to the Hurricanes in a semi-final in Wellington, and in 2008 they reached the first Super 14 final, beaten once more by the Crusaders, 20-12. Third place in 2010 brought another semi-final, won by the Stormers, and in 2011 the Blues knocked them out in the qualifying final.

Michael Cheika and the 2014 title

After an 11th-place finish in 2012 under Michael Foley, the union appointed Michael Cheika for 2013. His first season ended with a 14-12 quarter-final defeat by the Queensland Reds. In 2014 the Waratahs won the Australian conference and topped the overall table of the 15-team competition with 12 wins from 16 matches. On 26 July they beat the Brumbies 26-8 at the Sydney Football Stadium to earn a first home final. Against the Crusaders, Adam Ashley-Cooper scored two tries, and with the visitors ahead 32-30 Foley landed a penalty from around 45 metres. The captain was openside flanker Michael Hooper, who won the Matt Burke Cup as the team's player of the season seven times between 2013 and 2020.

Home grounds

For most of the professional era the Waratahs played at the Sydney Football Stadium in Moore Park, which held 45,500 and was their home until 2019. A deal signed in 2009 took at least one match a season to Stadium Australia at Sydney Olympic Park until 2015. While the Moore Park ground was being rebuilt, home games between 2019 and 2022 were spread across Western Sydney Stadium in Parramatta, the Sydney Cricket Ground, Brookvale Oval and Hunter Stadium in Newcastle. The new Sydney Football Stadium, with a capacity of 42,500, became the team's home in 2022. In 2025 the Waratahs played a Super Rugby AUS match at Dangar Park in Narrabri.

From the 2021 drought to the Pacific era

The 2020 season was suspended after seven rounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued as a domestic tournament, Super Rugby AU. In 2021 the Waratahs lost all 13 of their matches across Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman, the first winless season by an Australian side in the competition. The run ended on 18 February 2022, in Darren Coleman's first match as head coach, with a 40-10 win over the Fijian Drua at CommBank Stadium, their first victory in 538 days. That year they reached the Super Rugby Pacific quarter-finals, where the Chiefs eliminated them. In 2024 they finished last with two wins and 14 defeats, and Coleman left the post. Under Dan McKellar they won their first three games of 2025 and, at the end of that campaign, lost 21-10 to the British & Irish Lions in a tour match. In 2026 they won five of their 14 matches and finished eighth; McKellar resigned on 29 June 2026 and the union announced the return of Michael Cheika as head coach for 2027.