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Have the Waratahs answered their biggest questions for 2026?
The Waratahs head into 2026 in their second year under head coach Dan McKellar, and it promises to be an improved year despite headline players departing the club.
It shapes to be a season of better cohesion, fewer stars, but better connection in the gameplan and work ethic McKellar and his host of assistants are trying to execute.
McKellar has begun sculpting his roster to his preferred player type: determined, experienced, resilient.
Results 2025 – Finished 8th, 6 Wins, 0 Draw, 8 Losses, Points Diff – 134.
It’s clear the Tah’s ceiling is higher than their 2025 run suggests, but there are core areas of the game that require big changes if they are to surpass last season’s efforts.
The Tahs were one of two Aussie sides with a heavy negative points differential, and it wasn’t helped by a struggling attack that conjured the second fewest points on average in the comp.
This is highlighted by the fact that they beat the fewest defenders, made the fewest line breaks, and came in at 9th for carry metres.
Whilst points were hard to come by for the men from Daceyville, they struggled to keep them out too, sitting at a good 86% tackle success rate on average, but also missing an average of 24 tackles per game.
Too many tackles being made, too many missed, but at times, there simply weren’t any defenders filling the space, which saw points leaked.
The Tahs have the weapons to score more points and the coaches and players to sting in defence, but the question is whether they will click in 2026, or if it is one year too early.
A word from the Waratahs coach
Dan McKellar is not someone who hides from tough conversations or saying things that are uncomfortable for the betterment of his team.
Midway through the 2025 season, after a 15-point loss to the Crusaders in front of the home fans at Allianz Stadium, McKellar unleashed on his team in the post-match press conference. There, he said, “[t]here are some people (in the Waratahs) who are too comfortable, and that needs to change.”
Now, just ahead of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, McKellar has brought players to the Waratahs whom he believes can deliver more than just warm bodies at training.
“What I wanted to look at from a recruitment point of view is players who have been in winning environments and who have won trophies, or players who are leaders,” McKellar told the Off The Ruck YouTube channel.
Big-name recruitment like Wallabies Folau Fainga’a, Matt Philip, and Pete Samu will all call Daceyville home in 2026, and it certainly appears like McKellar is calling on players who he knows can give him an elite edge.
In the backline, Wallabies winger Harry Potter, as well as young buck George Poolman, have come across from the Western Force.
These headline signings are as much about experience as they are about building expectations and changing a culture.
All three forwards played for McKellar in Canberra, but the Tahs coach has other reasons for this as well.
McKellar, despite being a Queenslander who coached the ACT Brumbies for several years, has a strong will to see New South Wales talent emerge and flourish in his environment.
“We (NSW Waratahs) want to get to a stage where it’s all about retention and development of our best young local players.”
“George is a NSW boy, Folau is a NSW boy, Potts played for Sydney Uni, Pistol played for Randwick, everyone has that link to the Waratahs from their younger days.”
While new recruits are great, the Tahs have lost two of Australia’s best scrummagers in Angus Bell and Taniela Tupou, as well as their best ball-runner, Langi Gleeson.
Even with these stars, the Tahs’ scrum was operating as the 6th most successful overall.
McKellar has been candid about losing such heavyweights, but has faith that the work rate and determination will be there from the squad.
“There’s probably a lesser profile there (in the front row), but the boys we have brought in are hungry.
“Dan Botha and Tom Lambert have been around here for a number of years now, and it’s a huge opportunity for those guys to really kick on. Dan Botha is a different footballer to what we was 12 months ago.”
While McKellar has been getting his players into shape, he too has been looking to improve the big areas of the gameplan, the attack and defence.
“You need to be accurate about your decision-making. If you’re sending two or three (players) into a tackle and then you’re losing another one or two bodies hitting dead rucks or making poor decisions, then that’s going to make space elsewhere.”
When it comes to attack, McKellar was adamant that his attack coach Mike Catt’s attack shape takes time for players to understand and implement.
“Once you improve knowledge and understanding, then your decision-making and your option-taking are better off the back of it.
“We know we have quality backs… we want to be a team that if we see an opportunity from 90 metres out that we’ve got the bravery and the skill to be able to take it.”
What will McKellar do with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii?
Suaalii has played exclusively at outside centre, No.13, for the Wallabies and Joe Schmidt, but has played fullback and centre for the Waratahs under McKellar.
Astonishingly, Suaalii has played more than double the number of Test matches as he has Super games, after he suffered an injury midway through the 2025 SRP season.
Although McKellar remained guarded about the exact position Suaalii will be playing, he acknowledged that the Waratahs had not provided Suaalii with the right opportunities to flourish.
“I think regardless of what number he (Suaalii) has on his back, he’s a rare talent, and we gotta get him in the game,” McKellar said, speaking on the Off The Ruck YouTube channel.
“We can’t have him spending most of his time hitting rucks or running into brick walls… he had some pretty special moments when he was in space… because one-on-one, good luck!”
Waratahs predicted finish for SRP 2026 – 6/7th
It will be a tight fight between the Australians sides in 2026, none tighter than between the Waratahs and the Western Force for that ultimate finals spot in 6th.
It comes down to front-row depth and a cautious approach to the attack changes being made at Daceyville.
To go deep in SRP, you must be able to nail your set piece. Two areas the Tahs have lost talent and experience.
The addition of Philip and Ioane Moananu at hooker can hopefully help improve the lineout stats, but the scrum still remains a big unknown quantity.
In the attack, recruits like experienced Brumby Jack Debreczeni will aim to get the Waratahs playing the right parts of the field. His giant cannon of a boot will help the side exit their own half and pin the opposition in their own.
Despite McKellar and co heading into their second year, it appears like there are still too many changes, both in personnel and structure, to be able to guarantee the cohesion they are striving for.
The main glaring issue is that the Waratahs struggled to win on the road in 2025, only bagging one win away.
In 2026, they have away games against the Hurricanes in round-3, the Reds in round-4, the Brumbies and Chiefs in rounds-7 and 8.
Then in the second half of the season, they play Crusaders round-11, Highlanders in round-13, Drua in round-14, and finally the Force in round-16.
If they can bag just two of these, then they will do their finals push a world of good. Most likely, these will come against the Highlanders in round-13 and then a toss-up between the Force in round-16 or the Reds in round-5.
Similarly, an upset win against the Blues in round-6 in Sydney could equally alter the trajectory of their season.
Tough travel blocks in the middle and end of the regular season mean the Waratahs’ newly established depth will be tested, particularly in the front row.
The attack must be humming early as well, as it will be crucial for the Tahs to start strong at home in the opening two rounds against the Reds and the Drua before their first bye in round-3.
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