NSW Waratahs is delighted to confirm the return of the club’s championship-winning halves Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps for the 2027 Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Foley and Phipps, who steered the club to its maiden Super Rugby title in 2014, will reunite at Daceyville seven years after they last took the field together as Waratahs and Wallabies.
Foley, 36, has spent the last five seasons with Kubota Spears in Japan, where he led the club to three Finals and its first-ever League One championship in 2023.
After also departing Waratahs at the end of 2019, Phipps, 37, plied his trade with London Irish in the Premiership before joining Foley in Japan, playing four seasons with Green Rockets Tokatsu.
The veteran duo, who made their respective Super Rugby debuts in 2011, boast a combined 253 Super Rugby appearances and 147 Tests for the Wallabies.
Their paths have regularly converged throughout their careers, from playing Shute Shield for Sydney University, to winning a silver medal as Australian Sevens teammates at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Foley currently sits eighth on the all-time Super Rugby point-scorer list with 1095 points.
Wallaby No. 877 and Waratah No. 1582 Bernard Foley said:
“I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to rejoin the Waratahs for 2027.
“I feel very lucky to have the chance to finish back at the club where it all started.
“I can’t wait to meet the playing group and everyone involved and get to work.”
Wallaby No. 850 and Waratah No. 1612 Nick Phipps said:
“I’m super excited to be back home at the Waratahs.
“The chance to return and give something back to the club and the players is an opportunity I simply couldn’t pass up.
“I’ve had so many great memories at the Waratahs and I want to be a part of another team making their own great memories.”
Waratahs Director of High Performance B-J Mather said:
“What has been clear in my conversations with Bernard and Nick is their hunger to contribute and their desire to help drive our team forward.
“They have a deep understanding of what it means to represent the Waratahs and they know what it takes to build a winning environment.
“They’re both outstanding professionals who were there for one of the most memorable chapters in our club’s history and we’re excited to welcome them back to help shape the next one.”
