Title-winning halves Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps return to Waratahs

Title-winning halves Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps are returning to the NSW Waratahs for the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season, reuniting at the Sydney-based club seven years after they last suited up in cambridge blue together.

Foley and Phipps boast more than 250 Super Rugby appearances between them and have played a combined 147 Tests in Wallaby gold. Phipps started out with the Melbourne Rebels before making the move to Daceyville ahead of a history Super Rugby campaign in 2014.

The Waratahs had never won a Super Rugby title but that drought was broken on an unforgettable night at Sydney’s Stadium Australia (now Accor Stadium), with Foley slotting a clutch penalty at the death to sink the Crusaders 33-32.

Foley made the move overseas after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, linking up with the Kubota Spears in Japan Rugby League One. The fly-half led the club to its first-ever title in 2023, before going to the championship game again in 2025 and 2026.

“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 spent time abroad with London Irish in England’s Premiership and more recently, played four seasons in Japan for Green Rockets Tokatsu. The scrum-half featured in more than 35 games for the club, including a clash with Foley’s Spears in 2023.

Kubota and the Green Rockets went head-to-head on January 14, 2023, with Phipps starting in the same side as former Maori All Blacks captain Ash Dixon. Foley came off the bench for the Spears, slotting a couple of conversions in a clinical win.

Capped Wallabies halfback Jake Gordon and former Australia U20 captain Teddy Wilson are other options to wear the No. 9 jersey next season, shaping up as a strong group of scrum-halves at the club.

“I’m super excited to be back home at the Waratahs,” Phipps explained.

“The chance to return and give something back to the club and the players is an opportunity I simply couldn’t pass up.

“I’ve had so many great memories at the Waratahs and I want to be a part of another team making their own great memories.”

Foley joins the Waratahs ahead of a huge year for Australian rugby, with Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 only 14 months away. The playmaker last represented the Wallabies during the 2022 Spring Tour under Dave Rennie, who has since become the All Blacks head coach.

The Waratahs have already farewelled their three fly-halves from last season, with Lawson Creighton signing with Welsh side Ospreys. Jack Bowen and Jack Debrecenzi have also left the club after the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

Max Burey, who was the 2025 Super Rugby AUS Player of the Tournament, has made the move east from the Western Force to the Tahs. That transfer was confirmed by the club this week, with the recruitment of Foley and Phipps other key updates.

“What has been clear in my conversations with Bernard and Nick is their hunger to contribute and their desire to help drive our team forward,” Waratahs Director of High Performance, B-J Mather, added

“They have a deep understanding of what it means to represent the Waratahs and they know what it takes to build a winning environment.

“They’re both outstanding professionals who were there for one of the most memorable chapters in our club’s history and we’re excited to welcome them back to help shape the next one.”