Waratahs star devastated as injury threatens another season

“We’ll hold out a little bit of hope. The doc said the pop he felt may have been something different but at the moment it looks scarily like it was the same as [his] last injury.

“If it is the same injury, it will be season over.”

Bell’s injury is also a headache for new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, who was in Canberra for the match.

Bell finished second in last year’s John Eales Medal voting, behind Rob Valetini, and is likely to miss Australia’s opening Test of the year against Wales in July.

The Wallabies play 13 Tests this year, including a grand slam tour of Europe in November.

Meanwhile, the Waratahs’ horror season continues to go from bad to worse after another defeat to an Australian rival.

The 24-point loss was the Waratahs’ heaviest defeat to the Brumbies since a 61-10 result in 2021.

Coleman’s side have managed just one win from seven matches this season. However, four of the team’s losses have been by six points or fewer.

They have failed to beat the Queensland Reds, Melbourne Rebels and Brumbies.

The assignment does not get easier for NSW, with upcoming fixtures against the Crusaders (home), Chiefs (home), Hurricanes (away) and Brumbies (home).

Loading

The Waratahs are 10th on the ladder and only need to squeeze into the top eight to make a quarter-final.

Rugby Australia is reviewing the Waratahs program and will ultimately decide whether Coleman deserves a contract extension. NSW officials and Coleman hoped to have a resolution by the end of last month but the uncertainty appears to be affecting performances on the field.

“We had high hopes and to see the scoreline finish like that was disappointing,” Coleman said. “I thought we had good intent. We ripped in. We couldn’t establish any field position in that first half because of penalties. We just couldn’t hold the ball at crucial times.

“Hats off to them. They were far and away the most clinical and best team we have played this year.”