Dan McKellar has signalled his intention to stay on as Waratahs head coach despite a frustrating season that ended without a finals berth, insisting he is focused on getting back to work rather than on the speculation swirling around his position.
The Waratahs closed out their campaign with a 31-26 loss to the Western Force, a result that confirmed they would miss the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs. Asked about his future in the aftermath, McKellar was unequivocal. "I've got a contract here. I want to be here next year," he said. "We'll have a beer and reflect on the season tonight, and then come Monday, I'll go to work."
It was a message he had effectively delivered a week earlier, too, following a heavy defeat to the Brumbies. But the consistency of his stance has done little to quiet a section of the New South Wales support base that has grown restless over selection calls and roster management across a season of fine margins.
That frustration is rooted in what might have been. The Waratahs were competitive in a clutch of matches — against the Blues, the Highlanders and the Force among them — that they ultimately failed to close out. Tighten two or three of those results, the argument runs, and the side could have been playing finals rugby rather than reflecting on another year of near-misses.
There were individual bright spots to build on. Inside back Josh Flook enjoyed arguably his best season in Waratahs colours, and there is a strong case for him featuring in Wallabies thinking for the July tests despite a move offshore on the horizon. The set piece, however, was a recurring weakness, with the lineout in particular misfiring at costly moments — an issue that will concern Wallabies selectors as much as it does the club, given the calibre of opposition Australia face in the coming weeks.
McKellar's situation is unlikely to change in the short term. With a home World Cup looming in 2027, Rugby Australia is widely expected to avoid the upheaval of a coaching change in the build-up, and there is little appetite for disruption at this stage of the cycle. The coach, for his part, has reinforcements on the way for next season and will point to a young, developing squad as evidence that the project needs time rather than a reset.
Among the storylines hovering over the Waratahs is the persistent talk of a Bernard Foley return, with the veteran playmaker still producing high-level rugby in Japan. While that link continues to generate headlines, McKellar's immediate concern is more fundamental: converting close losses into wins and giving a frustrated fan base something tangible to rally behind.
The verdict on his tenure will ultimately rest on whether the improvement supporters have been promised begins to show on the scoreboard. For now, McKellar has made his position plain — he wants to see the job through, and intends to be back at his desk on Monday, planning for a 2026 in which the margins, he will hope, finally fall the Waratahs' way.
