NRL champion Angus Crichton headlines Cheika's star-studded Waratahs squad for 2027

Angus Crichton, who helped the Sydney Roosters claim the NRL Grand Final earlier this month, will make the switch to rugby union with the NSW Waratahs for the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season. The three-time NRL premiership winner headlines a squad of 13 capped Wallabies assembled by incoming head coach Michael Cheika.

Cheika, who was part of the Roosters’ coaching staff last season and is currently overseeing Lebanon’s Rugby League World Cup campaign, will reunite with Crichton at the Waratahs. The former State of Origin back-rower is returning to the fifteen-man code after a decorated NRL career.

Among the other marquee names in the squad are veteran halves Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps, who bring considerable experience from the Waratahs’ 2014 Super Rugby title-winning era. Wallabies prop Angus Bell also returns to the fold after spending the 2025/26 URC season with Irish province Ulster, while club rugby standouts George Francis and Otto Serfontein have also been included.

The squad features a significant injection of youth, with prop Edwin Langi, loose forwards Isaac Fonua and Marshall Le Maitre, scrum-half Angus Grover and playmaker Joey Fowler all earning their first Super Rugby Pacific call-ups. Fly-half Max Burey, who impressed during New South Wales’ run to the Super Rugby AUS Grand Final after joining from the Western Force, is also named alongside backs Joseph-Aukuso Suaali, Max Jorgensen, Teddy Wilson and Sid Harvey.

“We have a good balance of types of players in many areas and we’re definitely going to add or reinforce in others,” Cheika said. “Angus Bell is clearly an international-level player and those types are a huge part of the way Super Rugby teams play. We’re keen to get him playing at his peak and in career-best form.”

On Crichton’s code switch, Cheika expressed confidence in the transition. “I’ve had the pleasure of coaching him recently at the Roosters and I have no doubt about him making a successful transition back to rugby,” he said.

Cheika also singled out the younger members of the group, noting he was particularly impressed by Fonua’s carrying ability and Le Maitre’s combination of forward physicality and back-like pace. International players in the squad are expected to feature in the Nations Championship in November before returning for pre-season in January.