Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps return home to NSW Waratahs for 2027
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Super Rugby-winning halves Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps will once again pull on the sky blue, signing a one-year deal with the NSW Waratahs.
The deal brings two of the club's favourite sons back home, seven years after they last took the field together as Waratahs and Wallabies.
Foley and Phipps famously guided the Waratahs to their only Super Rugby title in 2014, with Foley kicking the game-winning penalty against the Crusaders.
Since their departure, the pair have been plying their trade in Japan, with Foley leading Kubota Spears to three Finals and its first-ever League One championship in 2023.
As for Phipps, he returns to NSW after featuring for Green Rockets Tokatsu following a stint with London Irish.
They bring with them a combined 253 Super Rugby games and 147 Tests worth of experience, excited to reunite at Daceyville.
“I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to rejoin the Waratahs for 2027," Foley said. “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.”
“I’m super excited to be back home at the Waratahs," Phipps added.
“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.”
It completes a remarkable full-circle moment for the duo, who started their career together at Sydney Uni and even won silver for Australia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Rugby Sevens.
“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," Waratahs Director of High Performance B-J Mather said.
“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.”
