An injury to a Wallabies star compounded the NSW Waratahs’ first loss of the season after conceding 59 points to the rampant Hurricanes.
Outside centre Joseph Suaalii is set to be sidelined for an extended period after injuring his hamstring during the team warm-up for Friday’s 59-19 Super Rugby defeat in Sydney.
Coach Dan McKellar said the former rugby league standout, who was replaced by Waratahs debutant George Poolman, would miss several matches.
“I don’t know yet but it looked pretty sore. I’d suggest it’s not a couple of weeks. I think it’s probably longer than that,” McKellar said.
“George did some good things tonight but you’re losing a top-quality player.
“No doubt it has its impact, but we’re not sitting here blaming that. We’ve got to be better than that.”
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Suaalii, 22, played only seven games last year in his debut season for the Waratahs because of injuries as they missed the playoffs for a second straight season.
Having opened their campaign with big wins over the Queensland Reds and Fijian Drua, McKellar described their latest performance as “incredibly disappointing”.
He criticised his team’s high rate of turnovers and missed tackles against the ruthless New Zealand side, who scored nine tries, including a hat-trick from Billy Proctor.
“We spoke about the 2026 Waratahs, and that’s not us,” McKellar said. “That’s not how we’re going to play and that’s not going to define our season.”
The Waratahs play their first match on the road next week against the Reds.
The Hurricanes, who boast the same 2-1 record as the Waratahs, will host the Western Force.
– AFP
Photo: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images
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