No teams overly happy after sodden first round of Super Rugby Pacific

The opening weekend of Super Rugby Pacific left us with plenty of great tries and some quality rugby played in spite of the at-times horrendous conditions in Sydney and Brisbane.

The NSW Waratahs' 40-10 win over the Fijian Drua on debut created plenty of headlines, mostly for the fact it ended a 538-day win drought for the sky blues, the end of a losing streak that dated back to August 2020.

But while plenty of credit was being thrown the way of new Waratahs coach Darren Coleman, and a win on debut is certainly an achievement in itself, he was quick to deflect the praise to those people still in the organisation who didn't have a great time of it during the winless 2021 season.

«I'm just really happy for guys like Jake and Gilly and Whits and the staff and players that went through what they went through last year,» he said, of skipper Jake Gordon sitting right beside him after the match, and of assistants Jason Gilmore and Chris Whitaker, who found themselves in charge last season when the Waratahs ended head coach Rob Penney's tenure mid-season.

«I've only just jumped in here, so for me, yeah, it was a monkey off the back, but for them, they should be really happy and feeling really good about themselves, because that's been a while coming,» Coleman said.

The reactions of the players on the ground were telling, as the celebrations raged while the heavens opened above Western Sydney Stadium.

The Waratahs were very good and all the headlines were well-earned but they were quick to bring things back with some perspective: yes, they'd won their first game in 18 months, but competition debutants aren't yet at the level of more fancied rivals they're about to face.

«I think we're keeping it in check,» Coleman said.

«With all due