It’s the stuff that makes for a good holiday – staying at a nice hotel, sleeping in late and then wandering down for a session at the breakfast buffet.
But these are not behaviours that will help a professional rugby team win games on the road, according to Waratahs coach Dan McKellar.
Ahead of a critical clash against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday night, the Waratahs have been investigating why they’ve had Jekyll-and-Hyde results in 2025. The Tahs are unbeaten from five games at home, but have suffered four heavy defeats on the road.
NSW sit seventh with five rounds left, but only have two more home games, so an away win this weekend is likely needed to be a chance of making the top six and the playoffs. The Tahs haven’t won in Canberra since 2018 but the door is slightly more open than usual, with the Brumbies having lost two home games this year and after NSW beating their rivals in round six for the first time in 13 games.
But that was in Sydney, and McKellar said they’d been “looking closely” at why their form on the road is so vastly different.
“It’s an individual thing,” McKellar said. “It’s making sure there’s no distractions to allow you to go out there and perform at the level that you want to perform at.
Ben Grant of the Waratahs wins the ball from a line outCredit: Getty Images
“There’s different things. You’re in a hotel, there’s a buffet sitting around. If you want to over-eat and sleep in until 11 o’clock and be a little bit lethargic, then that’ll flow into your performance.
“So we’re doing a lot of work around just really making sure that our individual routine and schedule is where it needs to be.”
Travelling to chilly Canberra should offer less distraction than their last trip to Fiji, and the Tahs will also welcome back Wallabies players captain Jake Gordon (knee injury), and Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou and Andrew Kellaway (all rested).
Teddy Wilson has been excellent for the Waratahs in 2025.Credit: Getty Images
McKellar said Teddy Wilson – who has performed superbly in Gordon’s five-game absence, would continue to play a key role off the bench. With Gordon having spurned an overseas move to re-sign for another two years, McKellar again stressed his desire to also re-sign Wilson, who is off contract and being chased by the Force.
“Nothing changes with Ted. He’s the future,” McKellar said. “I’ve had quiet, private conversations with him around that, and I’ll talk to him and his family again. We want him here for the next 10 years.”
Sevens players assimilating well into Wallaroos scene: Yapp
Meanwhile, Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp said she can see no tension between 15s players and recruits from the Australian sevens team, after naming Olympic star Charlotte Caslick for her Test debut.
Caslick was one of six potential debutants named in the Wallaroos side to meet Fiji on Saturday in Suva, with the sevens veteran set to come off the bench at fullback or as a winger. Fellow Aussie sevens teammate Tia Hinds was also named for a probable debut.
Prop Faliki Pohiva and hooker Katalina Amosa will both start in their debuts. The latter is the sister of Wallaby Brandon Paenga-Amosa, making them the second set of siblings to both play Tests for Australia, after Matt and Kristy Giteau.
One of nine sevens players who signed up for a crack at selection for the World Cup later this year – via short stints in Super Rugby – Caslick made the big call to step away from the rest of the world sevens series this year, to focus on the 15-a-side game.
“I am really proud of myself. I think being 30 years old and putting yourself in a new environment and out of your comfort zone is always challenging,” Caslick said. “It’s been a little bit daunting at times, but I’ve been so well welcomed into the groups that I’ve joined that I really haven’t felt out of place at all.”
Former Wallabies star Mat Rogers, who manages Maddi and Tegan Levi, said last week there had been animosity toward the sevens players in Super Rugby. Maddi Levi missed out on playing with the Reds due to injury, but is still being considered for the World Cup.
“From my perspective, with the three girls currently in camp that have transitioned in, they’ve done exceptionally well. They’ve literally fitted into the 15s environment so well,” Yapp said.
“The rest of the girls have absolutely embraced them, and I think if you ask any of them how they feel, they would say that.”
The Wallaroos start their Pacific Four campaign next week in Newcastle against New Zealand.
Wallaroos v Fijiana, Saturday, 3pm, HFC Park, Suva
1. Bree-Anna Browne (#193 – Wests Bulldogs) – 9 caps
2. Katalina Amosa (Southern Districts) – debut
3. Faliki Pohiva (Blacktown Scorpions) – debut
4. Michaela Leonard (#168 – Tuggeranong Vikings) – 32 caps
5. Tiarah Minns (#217 – Melbourne University) – 1 cap
6. Siokapesi Palu (c) (#194 – Rockdale Rangers) – 16 caps
7. Ashley Marsters (#117 – Boroondara) – 34 caps
8. Tabua Tuinakauvadra (#200 – Orange Emus) – 11 caps
9. Layne Morgan (#188 – Merewether Carlton) – 29 caps
10. Faitala Moleka (#199 – Blacktown Scorpions) – 15 caps
11. Desiree Miller (#204 – Eastern Suburbs) – 12 caps
12. Cecilia Smith (#190 – Leeton Dianas) – 18 caps
13. Bienne Terita (#195 – Randwick) – 5 caps
14. Maya Stewart (#196 – Nelson Bay Gropers) – 16 caps
15. Caitlyn Halse (#210 – Camden Rams) – 6 caps
Reserves
16. Tania Naden (#197 – Uni-North Owls) – 19 caps
17. Martha Fua (Blacktown Scorpions) – debut
18. Eva Karpani (#171 – Southern Suburbs) – 31 caps
19. Ashley Fernandez (Uni-North Owls) – debut
20. Emily Chancellor (vc) (#158 – Sydney University) – 23 caps
21. Tia Hinds (Randwick) – debut
22. Trilleen Pomare (#155 – Wanneroo) – 33 caps
23. Charlotte Caslick (Wests Bulldogs) – debut
Watch all the action from the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season on Stan Sport, the only place to watch every match ad-free, live and on demand.
