Twelve years after lifting the trophy together, back in the same building
2014. Super Rugby final. Waratahs over the Crusaders, and both Stephen Hoiles and Wycliff Palu in the starting XV.
They have walked back in, this time with clipboards. Michael Cheika has given the pair assistant coaching roles on two-year deals, the first hires he has made since taking the Sydney job again.
Hoiles played 16 Tests for the Wallabies. Palu played 58. Back-rowers, both of them, and neither was known for taking a soft option.
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Hoiles arrives with an MLR title and a Shute Shield on his record
His coaching résumé is not filler. He comes from California Legion, who he took to this year’s Major League Rugby final before losing to the Chicago Hounds. Earlier there was an MLR championship with the LA Giltinis in 2021, then a return home and a Shute Shield triumph with Randwick in 2023 that ended a long wait for the club.
“I grew up playing all my junior rugby in New South Wales. The Waratahs are the team you dream about as a player, and it’s the same as a coach,” he said.
He frames it as a circle closing. He is also clear-eyed about the state of things: “It’s a really important part of the Australian rugby system. The Waratahs need to be strong, on and off the field.”
Palu comes back from Japan’s third tier
Palu has spent the past year at Kurita Water Gush Akishima as a player-coach. His most recent result on the touchline was a 43-19 win for the First Nations and Pasifika XV over the Tonga President’s XV, which claimed the inaugural Kaume’a Ofi Trophy.
The Waratahs also put him in their Legend XV this year.
“This is a club that means a lot to me and played a huge part in my rugby journey, and my life,” he said. Both men are working towards the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season.
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