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Rob Penney stood down without pay while his assistant coaches remain on the books
By Online Editors
The Waratahs, like many sporting clubs around the world, have been forced into taking drastic cost-cutting measures due to the coronavirus pandemic.
One such measure has seen Kiwi head coach Rob Penney stood down without pay despite the fact that both his assistants, Chris Whitaker and Matt Cockbain, are still on the books.
Although the Waratahs have enjoyed a dismal first season under the man who coached Canterbury to four provincial championships on the trot, chief executive Paul Doorn has said that the stand-down is nothing to do with results and everything to do with the current climate.
"That is not to do with performance, it's just a combination of factors," Doorn told the Sun-Herald. "From our perspective, we are looking at improving ... individual skills at a forwards and backs level."
The Waratahs are continuing to train in a limited capacity with the side focussing less on overall tactics and match-planning, and more on general skills - which is why back coach Whitaker and forwards coach Cockbain have been retained at this time.
Doorn himself has taken a 30 percent pay cut while around 70 percent of Waratahs staff have been stood down.
"There are a whole host of people we'd love to keep on the books, but it's just not possible at the moment," Doorn said.
"I'm still working full-time, but I've said I'm taking a 30 per cent pay cut, which the board signed off on. If that needs to be more, then we'll look at that after what happens behind closed doors over the weekend.
"I'm a bit of a realist – leaders need to lead from the front."
Doorn is confident that the Waratahs will be able to survive the pandemic, which has seen rugby across the globe suspended or cancelled.
"We're not saying it's going to be easy but we think we're in a good place financially if we manage the business, if we manage expenses and manage our relationships with people like sponsors, to be able to emerge on the other side."
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Latest Comments
Turn it up. Give me your john A game would ya!
Go to commentsI didn't really get the should tone from it, but maybe because I was just reading it as my own thoughts.
What I read it as was examples of how they played well enough in every game to be able to win it.
Yeah I dunno if Ben wouldn't see it that way (someone else would for sure need to point it out to him though), I'm more in the Ben not appreciating that those close losses werent one off scenarios camp. Sure you can look at dubious decisions causing them to have to play with 14 or 13 men at the death as viable reasons but even in the games they won without such difficulties they made a real struggle of it (compared to how good some of their first half play was). This kind of article where you trying to point out the 3 losses really would most likely have been wins only really makes sense/works when your other performances make those 3 games (or endings) stand out.
There might have been a sentence here and there to ensure some good comment numbers but when he's signing off the article by saying things like ..
and..
I don't really see it. Always making sure people are upto date with the SH standing/perspective! NZ went through some tough times with so many different perspectives and reasons why, but then it was.. amusing how.. behind everyone was once they turned a corner. More of these 'unfortunate' results returned against SA and France at the start of the RWC which made it extra tasty to catch other teams out when they did bring it. So that created some 'conscious' perspective that I just kept going and sharing re thoughts on similar predicaments of other teams, I had been really confident that Wallabies displays vs NZ were real, that the Argentines can backup their thing against Aus and SA (and so obviously the rest), and current one is that England are actually consistent and improving with their attack (which everyone should get onboard with), and I'm expecting a more dominant display against Japan (even though they should have more of their experienced internationals for this one) that highlights further growth from July. 👍
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