OpinionIain PaytenSenior Sports ReporterJuly 18, 2026 — 10:52amJuly 18, 2026 — 10:52amNews that Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps are returning to the Waratahs next season produced predictable responses this week.The next signing has to be Cliffy Palu. Bring back Jacques Potgieter. Where is Jeremy Tilse?Pick a member of the Waratahs’ title-winning squad in 2014 and their name has appeared in the comments this week. Given Foley and Phipps were both stars of that side, and are on the downhill slope to 40, it was an understandable reflex from the rugby world.But those fans with sky-blue blood had another understandable response: what the hell do these signings say about pathways and talent development inside the Rugby Australia-owned Waratahs?The rage is justified and slightly misplaced. Signing the duo is decent business given the circumstances, but how the Waratahs and RA got themselves into this position is bush league stuff.Phipps has come in as an 11th-hour filler, following a last-round injury to Jake Gordon that’ll sideline him for the first third of 2027, and a decision to let Michael McDonald go as the third halfback on the roster. Rumours that Teddy Wilson is leaving are wrong, he has re-signed for next season.The Waratahs celebrate after beating the Crusaders in the 2014 Super Rugby final.Mark Nolan/Getty ImagesUnder the terms of his contract, the Tahs have 19-year-old halfback Angus Grover progressing from the academy into the main squad in 2027, and though he’s a very promising Junior Wallaby, it’s too early in his career for the physicality of Super Rugby. That risk was exposed by Gordon’s injury. Hence Phipps.Foley’s return follows two other roster moves at No.10.Impressed by his Super Rugby AU form for the Force, then-Waratahs coach Dan McKellar signed Max Burey in January for 2027 and via his contract, rising Sydney University No.10 Joey Fowler was also promoted from the academy to the main squad for 2027. Fowler, 21, was the Junior Wallabies five-eighth for the previous two campaigns.Burey, 27, is a Tahs junior and Norths utility who has played 37 Super Rugby games over four seasons at the Force, primarily off the bench.Bernard Foley kicking a conversion for Kubota.GettyThat left just one five-eighth slot left at the Tahs, and with Jack Debreczeni retiring, Foley was targeted by McKellar as an experienced playmaker to both play and mentor.The problem? That has left no room for Jack Bowen, a 22-year-old who’d spent four seasons at the Tahs but was given little opportunity. He played 17 games and started five, all at the end of seasons. Mostly, Bowen did well with those chances, and he finished as the Tahs’ starting No.10 this year.The Easts pivot has also been the standout five-eighth in the Shute Shield for several seasons.But, on Friday, Bowen was released and farewelled by the Waratahs. He is looking at overseas options.Young playmaker Jack Bowen has been cut by the Waratahs.Getty ImagesSomehow the Waratahs have again pushed out a homegrown NSW five-eighth, after years of development and investment.But amazingly, Bowen is the latest in a long list. In 2023, the Waratahs had Will Harrison, Ben Donaldson, Tane Edmed and Bowen on the books. Four years later, all are gone.Each case has its own story, but the negligence of the Waratahs in letting NSW playmakers in their early 20s depart is a constant theme.It is time the bleeding stopped - and that can start by correcting the Bowen decision, to make sure his NSW-funded development is not enjoyed by a French or Japanese club for the next three years.Michael Cheika and Michael Hooper celebrate victory over the Crusaders in the Super Rugby decider in 2014.GettyWith Foley on a one-season deal, the Tahs will have a big gap again in 2028 and by early next year they’ll be looking for a NSW pivot with professional experience, or at least Shute Shield dominance. They’ve got both in Bowen, and the Waratahs can head off the criticism coming their way with Foley’s return by going back to Bowen and working out a deal for 2028.The other pride-swallowing step the Waratahs - read Rugby Australia - should take is to pick up the phone and talk turkey with one more 2014 alumni: coach Michael Cheika.It defies belief that RA are not in discussions with Cheika about the possibility of him taking over the vacancy left by McKellar last month.Cheika is a thoroughbred gift-horse for RA. You’d struggle to find anyone who doesn’t believe Cheika would turn the Waratahs around. He has made a career of it.Cheika’s CV will be many miles better than any of the candidates RA will gather in their search. There is a reason why Test nations and major clubs hammer his phone regularly.Influential Waratahs players are even pushing internally for Cheika.For whatever reason, risk-averse types at RA are reluctant to consider the Cheika package, which is viewed as unmanageable and not “aligned” to the steady, process-driven ethos of RA’s top brass.Much of that stuff is stereotyped. Cheika is not the hot-headed wild man of yesteryear. He would insist on being the boss at the Waratahs, for sure, but that’s exactly what is needed.On their trajectory, the Waratahs are getting close to falling off the sporting map in NSW. Seeing stands full for Wallabies games in Sydney should be more of a source of pain for RA than back-slapping, knowing three-quarters of those same rugby fans are not interested in watching the Waratahs.RA have spent huge sums on the poster-boy stars at NSW - Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, the incoming NRL recruit Angus Crichton - but without success, the Waratahs won’t be a hot ticket and the investment wasted.Cheika is a no-brainer as the best option to bring back success and re-engage an apathetic public. Frame it with a succession plan, if the jitters feel too strong. Install Stephen Hoiles or Chris Latham as an assistant, and set up a handover in two years’ time.There is a reason people remember Phipps and Foley, and make 2014 jokes. That was the last time the state was truly invested in the Waratahs.Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners