# 2018 New South Wales Waratahs season

The 2018 New South Wales Waratahs season was the club's 22nd season since the inception of Super Rugby in 1996.

## Squad
### Current squad

The squad for the 2018 season:
| Waratahs Super Rugby squad |
| Props Harry Johnson-Holmes Sekope Kepu Tom Robertson Paddy Ryan Matt Sandell Shambeckler Vui Cody Walker Kalivati Tawake $^{ST}$ Hookers Damien Fitzpatrick Tolu Latu Hugh Roach JP Sauni Locks Ned Hanigan Ryan McCauley Nick Palmer Rob Simmons Tom Staniforth | Loose forwards Jack Dempsey Jed Holloway Michael Hooper Maclean Jones Kelly Meafua Will Miller Lachlan Swinton Michael Wells Brad Wilkin Scrum-halves Jake Gordon Nick Phipps Nick Duffy $^{ST}$ Mitch Short $^{ST}$ Michael Snowden $^{ST}$ Fly-halves Bernard Foley Bryce Hegarty Mack Mason | Centres Kurtley Beale Lalakai Foketi Alex Newsome Irae Simone Wingers Cameron Clark Andrew Kellaway Taqele Naiyaravoro Curtis Rona Fullbacks Israel Folau |
| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped and $^{ST}$ indicated short-term cover. 1 2 Duffy was not included in the original squad, but was named in their matchday squad for their match against the Jaguares. 1 2 Snowden was not included in the original squad, but was named in their matchday squad for their match against the Rebels. 1 2 Tawake was not included in the original squad, but was named in their matchday squad for their match against the Sharks. |

### Transfers

| Player | Position | Previous club | Notes |
| Harry Johnson-Holmes | Prop | New South Wales Country Eagles | |
| Kalivati Tawake | Prop | Fijian Drua | Short-term contract |
| Shambeckler Vui | Prop | Western Force | |
| Cody Walker | Prop | Sydney Rays | |
| JP Sauni | Hooker | Auckland | |
| Nick Palmer | Lock | Hawke's Bay | |
| Rob Simmons | Lock | Queensland Reds | |
| Tom Staniforth | Lock | Brumbies | |
| Kelly Meafua | Flanker | Greater Sydney Rams | |
| Will Miller | Flanker | Rebels | |
| Lachlan Swinton | Flanker | New South Wales Country Eagles | |
| Nick Duffy | Scrum-half | Sydney Rays | Short-term contract |
| Mitch Short | Scrum-half | Western Force | Short-term contract |
| Michael Snowden | Scrum-half | Rebels | Short-term contract |
| Kurtley Beale | Centre | Wasps | |
| Lalakai Foketi | Centre | Bay of Plenty | |
| Alex Newsome | Centre | Western Force | |
| Curtis Rona | Centre | Western Force | |
| Player | Position | Previous club | Notes |
| Dave Lolohea | Prop | Sydney Rays | |
| Sam Needs | Prop | New South Wales Country Eagles | |
| Angus Ta'avao | Prop | Chiefs | |
| David McDuling | Lock | Sydney Rays | |
| Dean Mumm | Lock | | Retired |
| Will Skelton | Lock | Saracens | |
| Senio Toleafoa | Lock | Nevers | |
| Matt Lucas | Scrum-half | Brumbies | |
| Andrew Deegan | Fly-half | Connacht | |
| Rob Horne | Centre | Northampton Saints | |
| Dave Horwitz | Centre | Rebels | |
| Reece Robinson | Wing | Sydney Roosters (NRL) | |
| Harry Jones | Fullback | Toyota Jido Shokki | |

## Season summary
### Season results

| Rnd | Date & local time | | Team | Score | Venue | Attendance | Ref. |
| 1 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 2 | Saturday, 24 February (7:45 pm) | H | Stormers | 34–27 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 11,087 | |
| 3 | Saturday, 3 March (3:03 pm) | A | Sharks | 24–24 | Kings Park Stadium, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | 14,143 | |
| 4 | Saturday, 10 March (6:40 pm) | A | Jaguares | 38–28 | José Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina | 5,203 | |
| 5 | Sunday, 18 March (4:05 pm) | H | Rebels | 51–27 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 11,652 | |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | Saturday, 31 March (7:45 pm) | A | Brumbies | 17–24 | GIO Stadium, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia | 13,515 | |
| 8 | Saturday, 7 April (2:15 pm) | A | Sunwolves | 29–50 | Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo, Kantō, Japan | 9,707 | |
| 9 | Saturday, 14 April (7:45 pm) | H | Reds | 37–16 | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 15,648 | |
| 10 | Friday, 20 April (7:45 pm) | H | Lions | 0–29 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 10,614 | |
| 11 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 12 | Saturday, 5 May (7:45 pm) | H | Blues | 21–24 | Brookvale Oval, Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia | 13,013 | |
| 13 | Saturday, 12 May (5:15 pm) | A | Crusaders | 31–29 | AMI Stadium, Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand | 11,597 | |
| 14 | Saturday, 19 May (7:45 pm) | H | Highlanders | 41–12 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 12,308 | |
| 15 | Saturday, 26 May (7:35 pm) | A | Chiefs | 39–27 | FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand | 10,747 | |
| 16 | Saturday, 2 June (7:45 pm) | A | Reds | 41–52 | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 14,452 | |
| 17 | Friday, 29 June (7:45 pm) | A | Rebels | 26–31 | AAMI Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 9,208 | |
| 18 | Saturday, 7 July (7:45 pm) | H | Sunwolves | 77–25 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 18,059 | |
| 19 | Saturday, 14 July (7:45 pm) | H | Brumbies | 31–40 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 17,155 | |
| QF | Saturday, 21 July (8:05 pm) | H | Highlanders | 30–23 | Allianz Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 12,067 | |
| SF | Saturday, 28 July | A | Lions | 44–26 | Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa | | |

### Standings

| Australian Conference |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 1 | Waratahs | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 557 | 445 | +112 | 74 | 59 | 4 | 2 | 44 |
| 2 | Rebels | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 440 | 461 | –21 | 57 | 60 | 5 | 3 | 36 |
| 3 | Brumbies | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 393 | 422 | –29 | 56 | 52 | 2 | 4 | 34 |
| Overall standings |
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| 2 | Lions | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 519 | 435 | +84 | 77 | 55 | 6 | 4 | 46 |
| 3 | Waratahs | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 557 | 445 | +112 | 74 | 59 | 4 | 2 | 44 |
| 4 | Hurricanes | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 474 | 343 | +131 | 66 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 51 |

### Finals

| Qualifiers | Qualifiers | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 21 July – Christchurch | 21 July – Christchurch | | | |
| Crusaders | 40 | | | |
| Crusaders | 40 | 28 July – Christchurch | 28 July – Christchurch | | |
| Sharks | 10 | 28 July – Christchurch | 28 July – Christchurch | |
| Sharks | 10 | Crusaders | 30 | |
| 20 July – Wellington | 20 July – Wellington | | Crusaders | 30 | |
| 20 July – Wellington | 20 July – Wellington | Hurricanes | 12 | |
| Hurricanes | 32 | Hurricanes | 12 | |
| Hurricanes | 32 | | | | 4 August – Christchurch | 4 August – Christchurch |
| Chiefs | 31 | | | | 4 August – Christchurch | 4 August – Christchurch |
| Chiefs | 31 | | | | Crusaders | 37 |
| 21 July – Johannesburg | 21 July – Johannesburg | | | | | Crusaders | 37 |
| 21 July – Johannesburg | 21 July – Johannesburg | | | | Lions | 18 |
| Lions | 40 | | | | Lions | 18 |
| Lions | 40 | 28 July – Johannesburg | 28 July – Johannesburg | | | |
| Jaguares | 23 | 28 July – Johannesburg | 28 July – Johannesburg | | | |
| Jaguares | 23 | Lions | 44 | | | |
| 21 July – Sydney | 21 July – Sydney | | Lions | 44 | | | |
| 21 July – Sydney | 21 July – Sydney | Waratahs | 26 | |
| Waratahs | 30 | Waratahs | 26 | |
| Highlanders | 23 | | | |

## Statistics

Top point scorer :
| No. | Player | Pos. | Tries | Pen | Con | Pts |
| 1 | Bernard Foley | Fly-half | 4 | 24 | 68 | 223 |
| 2 | Taqele Naiyaravoro | Wing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 75 |
| 3 | Israel Folau | Fullback | 11 | 0 | 0 | 55 |
| 4 | Curtis Rona | Wing | 7 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 5 | Jake Gordon | Scrum-half | 6 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| 6 | Michael Hooper | Flanker | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 6 | Ned Hanigan | Lock | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 6 | Cameron Clark | Wing | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 6 | Will Miller | Flanker | 4 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Top try scorer :
| No. | Player | Pos. | Tries |
| 1 | Taqele Naiyaravoro | Wing | 15 |
| 2 | Israel Folau | Fullback | 11 |
| 3 | Curtis Rona | Wing | 7 |
| 4 | Jake Gordon | Scrum-half | 6 |
| 5 | Bernard Foley | Fly-half | 4 |
| 5 | Michael Hooper | Flanker | 4 |
| 5 | Ned Hanigan | Lock | 4 |
| 5 | Cameron Clark | Wing | 4 |
| 5 | Will Miller | Flanker | 4 |