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MICHAEL Cheika spoke earlier this week about retention before recruitment, with 80 per cent of his best players off contract, but he has already made a key acquisition for 2014 by luring Wallabies halfback Nick Phipps across the border.
Melbourne Rebels star Phipps agreed to join the Waratahs last Thursday night.
There is intriguing background angst to this, with former Wallaby Luke Burgess to join the Rebels next year, returning to Australia after leaving the Tahs at the end of the 2011 season.
Phipps is unhappy that the Rebels' interest and negotiations with Burgess weren't fully disclosed.
He wanted to stay in Melbourne, telling friends he became a Wallaby with the help of the franchise and felt loyalty to them.
But upon discovering that Burgess was on a done deal, Phipps felt burned by some officials at the Rebels.
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WARATAHS crowds are back in the spotlight after their first home game only drew 11,206 - the lowest ever. Officials were re-assuring themselves it was the wet weather at fault and fans were watching at home instead. Were they? The answer is - sort of. FoxSports ratings hovered around the 180,000 mark for Tahs-Rebels, which is similar to the only-average figures of last year. Not quite the Izzy-mania fan boost the Tahs - and the ARU - paid big bucks for.