Points or potential? Crunch time for Coleman as Tahs prepare for brutal Fiji mission

Darren Coleman, the coach of the Waratahs, has a record of one victory, three losses after four Super Rugby rounds. He will soon find out if he has done enough to persuade the NSW Rugby board to extend his contract.

This is by no means an easy choice. The Waratahs have defeated the Crusaders and been competitive in their tight losses to the Highlanders and Blues following their first-round loss to the Reds. The board will have to determine whether to keep Coleman on staff based on his potential or whether to highlight the hard, unchanging record-book numbers in the absence of any improvement.

The Waratahs have now lost by two points against New Zealand opponents in Sydney twice in the past two weeks. On Saturday, they managed to stay in the game against a physically stronger Blues team, having earlier come within one penalty kick of winning the Highlanders. It gets more difficult the next week when they play the Fijian Drua away.

In 2021, Coleman took over a winless Waratahs team. Over the next two seasons, he guided them to sixth-place finishes, but they were eliminated in the quarterfinals each time. In an effort to demonstrate that he was the ideal candidate to lead NSW rugby going forward, Coleman was handed one of the most difficult schedules this season.

Following a convincing 40–22 first-round loss to the Reds, not many people thought Coleman’s team would have a chance against the Crusaders in Melbourne the following week. Although it was a well-deserved victory, it must be viewed in the light of the fact that the Christchurch team has lost all four rounds.

The Highlanders game is arguably the one that had the most potential to drastically alter Coleman’s future story. Tane Edmed had a chance to win the match with a 39-meter penalty goal after the siren went off. It was unsuccessful, and Coleman faced another uphill battle against the Blues instead of being the man who had led the Waratahs to heroic back-to-back victory against opponents from New Zealand.

Tane Edmed might pay a steep price for missing the penalty against the Highlanders.CREDIT: GETTY

In sports, a coach’s destiny can be determined by the smallest details and fleeting moments that are lost to the passage of time. Following six games in the First Division without a victory at Manchester United in 1990, Alex Ferguson faced intense pressure to remain in his position.

The fans had become impatient with him after he arrived in 1986 amid great hoopla but no trophies. Ferguson would undoubtedly be fired if the team lost to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round. However, a little-known guy named Mark Robins scored the game’s lone goal to lead 1-0. United went on to win the cup, and Ferguson cemented his reputation as one of the game’s best coaches by the time he departed 23 years later.

Coleman would recoil at being compared to Ferguson, who went on to win 13 league titles in Manchester, but the tale shows how a coach’s destiny can shift in the course of a single game. In the end, a coach’s success is their only real yardstick, and how they get there is unimportant.

The Waratahs team has progressed from the previous year and can compete against any team in the tournament, according to the qualitative statistics, despite the quantitative data for this season showing three losses and one triumph. It remains to be seen if this will be sufficient for Coleman to convince the board that he is the right person to lead the Waratahs going forward.

Max Jorgensen (hip) missed the Blues game, so Coleman is hoping he’ll be ready to play again before the difficult trip to the Drua. Will Harrison, a five-eighth, is also anticipated to be in the running after participating in the entire Waratahs A match against the Brumbies Runners on Saturday.

Coleman also gave encouraging news on Wallabies centre Lalakai Foketi, who has made great progress with his neck injury and may play against the Rebels in round six in Sydney.

Coleman remarked, “I think he’s a little too tight for the Fiji [trip].” “Now that nothing is holding him back structurally, he just needs to regain his confidence.”

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