The Israel Folau saga has claimed another victim, with Daryl Gibson quitting as NSW Waratahs coach after one of the most tumultuous seasons in the franchise’s history.
Gibson, who joined the Waratahs as an assistant to Michael Cheika in 2013 before taking over as head coach in 2015, had one year remaining on his contract but has opted to walk away.
Super Rugby semi-finalists and Australian conference winners last year, the Waratahs finished 12th on the ladder in 2019 after winning only three of their last eight games without the suspended and subsequently sacked Folau.
Gibson will front the media at press conference in Sydney on Friday afternoon but a Waratahs spokesman has confirmed to AAP that the former All Black has decided to stand down.
Gibson will leave the club after a season of lost opportunities and one sadly marred by a series of off-field controversies, chiefly Folau’s bitter fight with Rugby Australia.
After snapping the mighty Crusaders’ record 19-match winning streak in March, the Waratahs’ campaign hit the skids.
Folau became Super Rugby’s all-time leading try-scorer with his 60th five-pointer in a narrow round-eight loss to the Blues in Auckland in April.
But that was the last game the dual international played after having his multi-million-dollar four-year contract torn up for his controversial social media posts.
Unable to replace his attacking prowess, the Waratahs struggled to find tries during the second half of the season, slumping from first in the Australian conference to third behind the Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels by season’s end.
To great frustration to Gibson and the team, the Tahs lost six games by eight points or less and three by three points or less.
In addition to the Folau firestorm, Gibson and the Waratahs had to contend with hooker Tolu Latu’s drink-driving drama.
Having just completed a six-match suspension, Latu was found asleep at the wheel of a moving car last month before registering a 0.135 blood alcohol reading.
Fined $1300 and suspended from driving for three months after pleading guilty to mid-range drink-driving, Latu this week was hit with a $5000 breach notice by Rugby Australia and banned for four matches.
Gibson has been linked to the vacant Wallabies attack coach role.