'We need resources and we need to strategically recruit' - Penney after backing from NSW Rugby Union to avoid unwanted history
After five ugly defeats in a row, Rob Penney says he needs more than the backing of the NSW Rugby Union board to save the Waratahs from sinking to an unprecedented low.
He needs targeted recruiting.
With the exception of last year’s truncated season, the Waratahs face the grim – and increasingly likely – prospect of becoming the first Australian team in 25 years of Super Rugby to endure a winless campaign.
Saturday night’s 46-14 loss to the Queensland Reds again demonstrated the chasm in class between the cash-strapped and rookie Tahs and their rivals in Super Rugby AU, let alone the ruthless New Zealand opposition to follow.
“We need resources and we need to strategically recruit in a couple of areas so the organisation can move forward more quickly than just relying on the youthful guys to come through,” Penney said.
A try in the last minute to fullback Damian McKenzie saw the Chiefs win an all-time classic against the Blues, 15-12.#CHIvBLU #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/TCjIwbnGsT
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 27, 2021
After opening with record defeats to the Brumbies and Queensland, and handing the Western Force their first Super win since 2017, the Waratahs fell to the Melbourne Rebels before conceding the most points to the Reds in a Super Rugby fixture.
“There’s a whole lot of issues that have culminated in what now is a very ugly looking run of games,” Penney said.
“If it wasn’t for the calibre of people in the organisation and the calibre of men that are in the group trying to do the jersey proud, then this would have blown up and disintegrated massively.
“No one likes it. No one is enjoying it, in terms of the results, but there’s a real resolve to try to get better every week.”
Despite the strain, the embattled coach reaffirmed his commitment to the job.
“I love what I’m doing,” the Kiwi said.
“With the initial stages when I was bought in, it was (a question of) could I bring a young group through?
“Of course I can. I would back my record against anyone to be able to do that.
“(But) you do need to have a combination of youth surrounded by experience.”
Then there’s the side’s injury crisis, which started when they lost captain Jake Gordon in the opening round.
Even Reds coach Brad Thorn felt for Penney when the Waratahs lost both their starting second-rowers inside 15 minutes on Saturday.
“It was brutal,” Thorn said, urging the NSW Rugby Union board to “play the long game” with Penney like the Reds did with him during their own rebuild.
Penney didn’t want to make excuses but he said after 20 minutes the Waratahs “basically (had) a colts pack out there”.
“The reality of that is the repercussions are on the whole team because our set piece isn’t dominating and it’s never going to be able to dominate with the youthfulness and lack of experience,” he said.
“It doesn’t mean they’re bad footballers. It just means they’re not mature enough to compete yet at this level.
“But there’s enough quality in them that in the near future they will rise into those roles.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments