Tahs' bus-ride karaoke bring Super vibes

Bus-trip karaoke and vulnerable revelations of personal resilience have stripped the NSW Waratahs of last year's historically heavy baggage.

New coach Darren Coleman -- fresh off a title with the LA Giltinis in the USA in their inaugural season -- has brought his unique spin to things since arriving at Daceyville to resuscitate a Tahs side that lost every game last year.

And the players have responded, Wallabies centre Izaia Perese doing his best to describe the atmosphere before Friday's crucial season opener against Super Rugby Pacific debutants Fijian Drua.

"It's definitely a style I haven't seen before, but it's a style that's 100 per cent backed by all of us," he said of their trip to far-flung Roma on the weekend to play the Queensland Reds.

"The proof's in the pudding; the bus ride here was probably one of the funnest I've had."

Perese said a terrible rendition of Beyonce's Halo was a highlight, while the mood shifted when each player was sat on a chair and asked to detail an example of them overcoming adversity.

"We go deep into our stories of resilience and that brings us closer," the 24-year-old said.

"The camaraderie; everyone loves each other, everyone's equal."

Brisbane-born Perese has his share of those stories to tell.

Plucked from the Queensland Reds as a 20-year-old to join the Wallabies squad, Perese then shifted to rugby league where his NRL career was just two games in before a drugs charge resulted in him being booted from the Broncos.

An unhappy stint in French rugby followed before the Waratahs provided a crucial second chance that he accepted gleefully by being one of the bright spots of a gloomy 2021 campaign.

"I feel really happy and content; the journey I've been through on the last couple of