The perennially under-achieving Waratahs had an awful year last year, with some injuries in key positions in their forward pack, some very questionable decisions by coach Ewen McKenzie and some close losses.  Expect to see a much improved Waratahs performance this year.

This year the Waratahs have notably gained backs coach Todd Louden from the Bulls, who will take over from defence coach Les Kiss as the backs coach.  Kiss will remain as the defence coach.  It is hoped that Louden will bring some cohesion to the backs this year, and will also prevent McKenzie from making some very questionable decisions with regard to backline selections.  Finally, with Timana Tahu at centre and young Lachlan Turner at wing or fullback it is hoped that the Waratahs will show some real attacking flair and pace out wide.

The big questions for the Waratahs this year are over flyhalf, fullback, tighthead prop and goal kicking.

Kurtley Beale shapes as a long term Waratahs flyhalf, but his decision making is still immature, he can lack patience and he lacks experience.  What he does possess is an amazing array of tricks, including a neat chip, a wonderful step and the ability to rip the ball out of an attacker's hand mid-tackle to name a few.  Beale shapes as a real talent, but still needs at least another season of experience under his belt and hopefully the Waratahs will persist with him this year.  Worryingly for the Tahs fans is that their squad features only one specialist tighthead prop in Al Baxter.  Waratahs fans will also be hoping that Burgess gets a run ahead of the one dimensional Sheehan at halfback.

Hopefully the Waratahs will not be affected by the shock retirement of young starting lock Al Kanaar.

The Waratahs also boast the most depth of any Australian side.

Gains:
Sekope Keepu, prop (Chiefs, NZ)
Dave Dennis, blindside flanker (rookie)
Ben Mowen, number 8 (Reds)
Luke Burgess, scrumhalf (Brumbies)
Timana Tahu, centre (Parramatta, League)
Ben Batger, fullback / wing (Hawkes Bay, NZ)
Matt Carraro, centre / wing (Brumbies)
Alfi Mafi, wing (rookie)

Tahu shapes as the key signing to bring a bit of spark to a stagnant Waratahs midfield.  Watch out for young hooker Fitzpatrick and inside centre Horne in the Waratahs Academy.  Both should be joining the Waratahs as rookies next year.  Batget and Carraro are both goal kicking outside backs, but are unlikely to set the world alight.

Losses:
Aaron Broughton-Rouse, prop (released)
Al Manning, hooker (released)
Al Kanaar, lock (forced retirement)
Ben Hand, lock (released)
Tim Davidson, blindside / number 8 (released)
Chris Siale, inside centre (Reds)
Morgan Turinuri, centre (Reds)
Josh Holmes, scrumhalf (Brumbies)
Peter Hewatt, fullback (UK)

Al Manning remains with the Waratahs Academy in case of injury at hooker.

Best Team: (15 to 1) (or more precisely, likely Waratahs team)
Sam Norton-Knight, Lachlan Turner, Timana Tahu, Tom Carter, Lote Tuqiri, Kurtley Beale, Luke Burgess / Brett Sheehan, Wycliff Palu, Phil Waugh, Rocky Elsom, Dan Vickerman, Will Caldwell, Al Baxter, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Matt Dunning / Benn Robinson
Reserves:
Adam Freier, Benn Robinson / Matt Dunning, Dean Mumm, Beau Robinson / Ben Mowen, Luke Burgess / Brett Sheehan, Sam Harris, ?

Note that David Lyons will miss the first part of the season due to injury.

Other players:
Sekope Keepu (prop), Jeremy Tilse (prop), David Lyons (number 8 ), David Dennis (blindside),  Josh Valentine (scrumhalf), Daniel Halangahu (flyhalf / fullback), Ben Jacobs (centre), Matt Carraro (centre / wing), Alfi Mafi (wing), Ben Batger (wing / fullback)

Strengths:
Good depth almost across the park, good forward pack, lots of potential in the backline

Weaknesses:
Lack of a proven goal kicker - expect the Waratahs to lose a few close games this year due to their kicking, inside centre remains a big hole in an otherwise quality backline, loss of Al Kanaar, lack of a real tighthead prop behind Al Baxter

Likely Finish:
4 - 7.  Expect the Tahs to lose a few close games due to average goal kicking, and more than likely they will finish as the top Australian team in either 5th or 6th place.  If their backline clicks and they remain free from key injuries, however, then the Tahs remain a title chance.