NSW Waratahs head coach Rob Penney has resisted the urge for wholesale changes to his side, after last weekend’s unedifying 51-14 defeat at the hands of the Chiefs. But he has called for a response from his playing group when they take on the high-flying Brumbies in the derby in Canberra on Sunday.

Different season, same old Crusaders. Despite losing a bevy of star names in Kieran Read, Sam Whitelock, Owen Franks, Jordan Taufua and Matt Todd in the off-season, the champion Cantabrians have opened the defence of their Super Rugby title with an impressive 43-25 defeat of the Waratahs in Nelson. But the similarly new-look Tahs can take plenty from their first serious hit-out under head coach Rob Penney, in particular the talents of two-try debutant winger Mark Nawaqanitawase.

The NSW Waratahs have finally revealed their new head coach, with kiwi Rob Penney putting pen to paper on a three-year deal that will take him up to the end of the 2022 Super Rugby season.