In the round-two victory, Hanigan made 17 tackles in 29 minutes off the bench, and his leadership was said to be inspiring in NSW rallying to almost beat Fiji in Lautoka in round five.
“Swinton and Ned have had great seasons. Every game he’s played he’s [Hanigan] been one of our top three players. He won our guardian award, our man of the match, last week and Lachie was right behind him. You’d say their best positions are six, but they’re going so well we have to fit them both in there.
Hanigan has been moved to No.8 for the Waratahs’ clash with the Chiefs at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
The 28-Test 110kg forward, who can play back-row and lock, is the type of hard-working player Joe Schmidt will be looking toward to return some experience to the Wallabies pack for the intense battles coming up against the British and Irish Lions.
But Schmidt – and Waratahs fans – will instead need to prepare for Hanigan’s departure.
The 29-year-old is poised to accept a deal to leave Australia and play in France, according to informed sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Hanigan has been negotiating with NSW and Rugby Australia but has been offered a contract worth double in Europe, and given he is only contracted through to the end of Super Rugby, the blond forward is likely to depart before the Test winter.
Hanigan’s departure will come after Swinton signed a deal late last year to move to Bordeaux for two years, and will see Australia lose two hard-edged middle-rowers just as their years of experience should begin to pay dividends for blue and gold teams.
Asked if RA should do more to keep a seasoned player like Hanigan, Coleman said: “I don’t think they have to do more, like they’re trying hard. I know it’s an ongoing discussion at the moment. That’s between Ned and RA.
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“We’d love to keep Ned and we’ve done everything that we can from our end of the salary range to keep him.”
Aware of Swinton’s departure, at least, NSW in recent months have been chasing young Brumbies backrower Charlie Cale, who grew up in Narromine and played for Eastwood before being signed by ACT.
Filling the vacancy left by Pete Samu, the 23-year-old has been in exceptional form this season for the Brumbies, and the Waratahs courted Cale heavily.
But Cale elected this week to extend his contract with the Brumbies for another year, according to informed sources, leaving the Waratahs with some big holes to fill on their back-row roster.
