Waugh, McKenzie deny rift rumours
Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:05
It seems that Waratahs skipper Phil Waugh and outgoing coach Ewen McKenzie might part ways in acrimonious circumstances despite their denial of 'tension' between them.
This season has been an absolute rollercoaster ride for the Waratahs, who made it all the way to the Super 14 Finals, despite the fact that long-serving coach McKenzie was informed in April already that his services would not be needed upon completion of the 'Tahs' Super 14 campaign.
That news caused plenty of media speculation around the Waratahs and McKenzie's futures, which did not help the players at all in their attempts to focus on rugby matters at hand.
'Tahs captain Phil Waugh very notably failed to mention or thank the coaching staff in his speech after the narrow 20-12 loss to the Crusaders in the Super 14 Final.
He praised "our guys despise the distractions off the field that went on all year". After that, he introduced his team to receive their loser's medals, and begrudgingly called up the coaching staff.
Waugh's actions clearly indicated that he was not enamoured with the coaching staff and all the hype and disruption that the news about McKenzie caused for the team over the season.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, there was "big time" tension between the captain and coach after the Final.
But both Waugh and McKenzie denied any rumours of a rift, and played down the situation.
Waugh confirmed that much of the media coverage on the 'Tahs was not about the rugby, but more about the personnel.
"Look, there's certainly been a lot of noise around the team and not so much focused on the team," he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"With all that noise going on around in the peripheries, I think the group stuck together really well and never shifted focus on what we were about and what we wanted to achieve."
Asked if he was concerned his omission of McKenzie's name in his post-match speech on the coach's last day in the job could be interpreted negatively, Waugh said: "I don't think so. It doesn't really matter what you say, I mean people are going to read things into it when you talk about a contentious issue.
"I don't think anyone should read anything into it.
"I was extremely proud of the way the players throughout the year conducted themselves when it would have been easy to look for excuses and shy away from responsibility. I thought all the guys really put their hands up," Waugh said.
The skipper was also reluctant to give a straight answer when asked whether the captain-coach relationship was still strong.
"I've said all along, a team is being part of the coaching staff, and the players and the team's been doing well, so there's no issues there."
Coach McKenzie said that he was unaware of any anomalies in Waugh's post-match speech, as he was unable to hear the speech due to the capacity AMI Stadium crowd celebrating.
"I didn't hear the speech. You couldn't hear it on the ground," McKenzie said.
When he was asked if there was a problem with Waugh, he defused the situation.
"I don't think so. I don't know what was said or wasn't said, but in terms of the dynamics, the group's been really good all year - staff, players, the whole bit.
"There's certainly been nothing we've had to deal with. There's never been any crisis meetings or anything.
"We set up a routine of how to function week to week and we stuck to it the whole year. We agreed on the pathway and got to where we wanted to, which was to play in the final.
"So there's never been any issues. It's actually been the most seamless season from the playing side that I can remember. So I don't think there's any dramas at all. I'm just disappointed we didn't win it."
McKenzie's successor at the Waratahs, former Sydney club Eastwoods coach Chris Hickey, was announced on Tuesday.
