‘Feeling of a reset’: Tahs working hard after ‘disappointing’ 2024 season

Backrower Charlie Gamble has described the NSW Waratahs’ pre-season as a “reset" ahead of the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific campaign. Following a last-place finish this year, the Tahs are working hard as they prepare for a new era with some different players and coaches.

New Zealand-born Gamble will co-captain the Waratahs in an intriguing off-season clash with Kubota Spears in Tokyo on Friday afternoon. The New South Welshman are more than a month into pre-season as they continue to charge towards the upcoming Super Rugby season.

The Tahs have been busy in the transfer department by securing the services of Wallabies Andrew Kellaway, Darby Lancaster, Rob Leota, Isaac Kailea, Taniela Tupou and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. Rugby guru Dan McKellar has also signed on as the team’s new head coach.

Following a disappointing campaign that saw the Tahs only win two of their 14 matches during the round-robin, the players not involved with the Wallabies are putting in the work as a team ahead of an opportunity to right some wrongs in 2025.

Gamble spoke with RugbyPass and rugby.com.au last week about how pre-season is going, with the humble flanker having only just come off the training paddock on a humid morning in Sydney. But it was clear then, just as it is now, that this is the dawn of a new Waratahs era.

“It was always going to be different with new coaching staff and players,” Gamble told Waratahs Media. “We’re just trying to find the new systems and cohesion between everyone.

“But it’s been good. I think we’re ahead of the game, coming into December. We’ve done a lot of work on both sides of the ball.

“We’re in a good spot for how we want to be, leading into next year. When the Wallabies come back, we’ll be clicking and humming.

“It was disappointing how we went last year, finishing bottom of the table, but with the new staff, new players, there is that feeling of a reset,” he added.

“Everyone is ready to move forward. Everyone is working hard, which is all we can ask for. It is one step at a time, and the trip to Japan is the first step of what’s to come.

“That’s the beauty of rugby. The sport itself brings a lot of different people together, and everyone has their different backgrounds and teams they’ve come from, and every coach has a different way of coaching.

“The group has bought in with ears open. We’ve been willing to learn, and we are seeing plenty of progress on the offensive and defensive side of it.

“It will be exciting to put it into the game this weekend.”

Before the Super Rugby season gets underway on Valentine's Day in February, the Waratahs still have plenty of work still to do, which includes their clash with Kubota. On Tuesday, the club unveiled a 25-man roster for the upcoming clash at Tokyo’s Edogawa Stadium.

Coach McKellar selected Gamble as one captain, with second-rower Hugh Sinclair sharing that responsibility. There’s an exciting mix of experience and youth in the squad, which includes two Academy players in Eamon Doyle and Joey Fowler.

“It’s the first time I have been captain. It’s also pretty good doing it with (Harry Sinclair) because we started at the NSW Waratahs together back in 2019,” Gamble said.

“It’s quite a young group we have. So, it’s a good responsibility to have, to lead the boys out.

“We have different ways of how we want to lead the group,” Gamble added when talking about himself and co-captain Sinclair. “I’m more of a person that does it in action. ‘Sincs’ speaks well and get the boys up when they need to.

“He had that detail around his game and the way he speaks about it. That’s good.

“But we have a good group of boys. We all respect each other. It’s a group that is keen to learn, and they’ve brought them through really well in this pre-season.”

The Waratahs flew out to Japan on Wednesday morning and will return to the Harbour City on Sunday before going on a brief two-day break. But after that small hiatus, the players will return to pre-season training early next week.

NSW Waratahs team list

Forwards

Jamie Adamson, Brad Amituanai, Sifa Amone, Adrian Brown, Ethan Dobbins, Eamon Doyle, Charlie Gamble (c), Clem Halaholo, Julian Heaven, Mesu Kunavalu, Tom Lambert, Fergus Lee-Warner, Hugh Sinclair (c), Leafi Talataina.

Backs

Jack Bowen, Nick Chan, Joey Fowler, Jack Grant, James Hendren, Triston Reilly, Lukas Ripley, Jackson Ropata, Archie Saunders, Joe Walton, Teddy Wilson.