Year one in the books, Waratahs coach Darren Coleman admits to a mixture of emotions when reflecting on his first season in charge.
Having joined NSW after an 0-13 season in 2021, expectations Coleman could lead an instant revival were low. But by the middle of the Super Rugby Pacific season that had all changed, the Waratahs were way ahead of his original schedule and bound for the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Coleman the Waratahs' appearance in the postseason was all too brief, his side swept aside by the Chiefs for a second time in 2022. Just like that, the campaign was over, leaving the NSW coach to assess just exactly how far his team had progress -- and how much further they still have to go.
"On the whole, we improved significantly on where the team was last year and that was our overall goal," Coleman told ESPN from his car, en route to the NSW snowfields for a well-earned break with his family.
"But still a little taste of missed opportunities against the Chiefs; one minute I think we're a good team and then the next we couldn't fight to be in the game a bit longer. We had a couple of opportunities there but I was a bit disappointed we didn't really fire a shot in the second half of that game.
"It's a tricky one, isn't it? If you'd offered me to finish where we did at the start of the season I would have taken that every day of the week. But expectation and your own goals shift once you achieve things earlier, so it's a bit of a big clash there.
"Are we satisfied overall? Yes. But there are some big learnings or an itch to scratch that we have got more in us and we can see the top of the mountain."
At the start of 2022 Coleman had expected his team to be scrapping for the final couple of positions in Super Rugby Pacific's much maligned top eight.
But his ability to bring together a squad that had been stripped of every skerrick of confidence, and get the best out of both some talented youngsters and returning veterans only further raised Coleman's coaching stocks.
NSW remain a work in progress, no doubt, but it is a healthy base on which to build as they look ahead to 2023 with excitement.
"I think the key gains were around our mental toughness, some of our defence, our focus to the task and then more importantly as we look to next year, the players will have a lot more confidence when they go out there and that we can compete with the big dogs," Coleman told ESPN. "So as far as ticking those boxes, that was excellent.
"We probably had some players, I wouldn't say that we uncovered, but whom really stamped themselves as quality Super Rugby players and we scored some great tries over the year. But I think we just need to become a bit more clinical in our attack and our tactical play, that would be the big ticket items going into next year.
"But basically we have a group there now that's tough, we know we can score points and we know we can show some resilience. So we've just got to add a few aspects and develop our game style a bit more."
As for those players who really exceeded his expectations, Coleman finds it difficult to separate a group that has now graduated through to the Australia A program -- and in Charlie Gamble has blown open the debate about who should be Michael Hooper's heir apparent as the Wallabies No. 7.
"It's hard to say, mate. I think both our wingers [Mark Nawaqanatiwase and Dylan Pietsch], Tane Edmed, Will Harris, Charlie Gamble; as far as young players that were already in the program and who showed that level, I don't think I could really separate any of those five," he told ESPN.
"They all came onto the scene and shone at different times, they also had some lowlights, but I think as far as young guys in the team who really put their foot forward, they would probably be the standouts."
In terms of next year, Coleman has a few holes to fill, some of which will be offset by the return of players from injury and the arrival of Kurtley Beale, while the Waratahs coach had special praise for the team's departing "Mr Fixit".
"I want to give a great rap to Alex Newsome," Coleman told ESPN. "I first saw Nobby at Easts colts in his first year out of school, just to see the progress he's made, he played every minute of the last two years, covered four different positions, so he's going to be a hard guy to replace. He was a part of our leadership group and it's sad that Nobby won't be around.
"But again, that's just a byproduct of the system. He's getting into his late 20s, seemingly not on the radar of the Wallabies. And like everyone, he's only got a short earning expectancy or capacity and so he needs to go and do that and experience another rugby culture.
"Kurtley's on his way in and he'll add some x-factor at the back, he will sort of do a little bit of what Nobby had done, he can play 10, 12 and 15, so he'll be pretty handy. But [Nemani] Nadolo's not official yet, so I won't comment on that one.
"Joey Walton is coming back [from injury]; Jamie Roberts was great for us, he plugged holes us for us, but Joey coming back next year just gives us an extra little bit of security like we had at the backend of this year. And also the ability for Izzy [Perese] to play with both Joey and Lalakai [Foketi], who can play both centre positions, it just sets us up a lot better in that midfield."
But it's up front where Coleman knows he has to find the big gains. While they were able to beat both the Crusaders and Highlanders, the latter in New Zealand, too often against Kiwi sides the Waratahs weren't able to fight fire with fire -- or rather size with size.
"Up front, [George Cridge] won't return, he's headed back to New Zealand, so we do need to find a bigger bodied lock, a genuine tighthead lock," Coleman explained. "If you look at how the Brumbies played, there are a lot of big bodies there; you could argue we went into that playoff game with two flankers, a second-row and two 7s.
"So probably the biggest step up we have to make against the Kiwi teams is to match their power game; the Chiefs turned it on during periods of that first half, they just had big ball-carriers rolling into us and they won the collisions or got a penalty off the back of that.
"So we've got be continually working with the guys we've got, getting them bigger and stronger, but we need a little bit of size in that second row as well. That will be something we are looking for."
As for talk former Wallabies hooker Tolu Latu could rejoin the franchise, Coleman said discussions were ongoing but that he was confident he could get the best out of the talented but wayward rake if Latu did find his way back to Sydney.
He also hopes to organise a mini tour, or at least some matches, not only to get those who were short on playing time this year some rugby under their belt, but also to get a jump on next year; a season that will herald the club's return to the brand-new Allianz Stadium, to be patronized by a supporter base that is at last re-engaged with its rugby team.
"Probably the most pleasing aspect [of 2022] I feel is that we now have the support of our people," Coleman reflected. "The crowd we were getting at home, albeit not of the heights of some of the years prior, but we're trending in the right direction and I think people overall are talking relatively positively about us.
"So that's massive and I've got big plans now on that stadium [Allianz Stadium] becoming a fortress and having people there that support us. So having that trust and people that support us was a big step forward."