New NSW Waratahs captain Emily Chancellor has sent an ominous message to the rest of the Super Rugby Women’s competition, believing there’s plenty of improvement in their side heading into 2026.
Chancellor will lead the Waratahs in 2026, taking over from fellow back-rower and good mate Piper Duck.
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The 34-year-old has led her childhood club before in Duck’s absence, guiding them to the 2025 title at North Sydney Oval.
“I've played for the Waratahs since 2019, been around the program in 2018 when I was injured, and I have grown up watching the Waratahs playfrom being a little girl watching in the stands with my dad, watching the men ad I think it's pretty cool to be able to turn around and represent a team and a state that you care so much about,” Chancellor said.
“We're talking about constantly growing, constantly evolving, and you can't always have the same things in the same places and that's absolutely not a disrespect to Piper and Piper's role in this team is still massive…the convos with ‘Rivo’ [coach Mike Ruthven] were just about growth and opportunity and sometimes we need to shift things up a little bit, change the voices in the leadership positions to be able to get the most out of the group.”
The Waratahs have been the benchmark of the competition since its inception, claiming six of the eight titles.
This included back-to-back championships, with Chancellor conceding last year’s win was far from the perfect show after taking down the Reds in the decider.
“I think we put pressure on ourselves because we want to be the best versions of ourselves. The games we played last year, I would say as a club and as a group, we probably weren't completely satisfied with the performances we put out,” the back-rower admits.
“We believe we can play better rugby and that's what we're determined to show again this year. It's not necessarily us thinking title and picture right now. We've got three pre-season games or two pre-season games to focus on and then it's about putting the best performances in that we know we're capable of because if we do our best.
"I believe that will get the end result that we're ultimately looking for, but the conversation about championships right now is not on the cards.”
The group has seen a host of experienced figures leave over the past 12 months, with Arabella McKenzie and Katrina Barker among the key departures, leading the way for a new group to take over.
“We've got this young group of girls who are also coming through who are fearless and determined to be a part of it, determined to challenge us and I think that's what makes this program so strong,” Chancellor added.
“It's not just that we rest on our laurels, and we know what we've done before, but we set that as a standard that is our minimum from then on, and that's how we keep trying to grow.
