Australian rugby's worst kept secret has finally been revealed with the NSW Waratahs officially signing championship-winning halves Bernard Foley and Nick Phipps for the 2027 season Super Rugby Pacific season.
Thirteen years after they lifted the Super Rugby trophy for the Waratahs' maiden title in front of a sold-out Accor Stadium in Homebush, the title-winning duo return to Daceyville for the first time in seven years after they last took to the field for the club.
Foley returns after five seasons plying his trade with the Kubato Spears in Japan, where he led the group to three finals and its first-ever League One title in 2023.
The "Iceman" as he was dubbed after he kicked the match-winning penalty in the final minutes to claim the Super Rugby title 33-32 over bitter rivals the Crusaders, admitted it had been hard watching from a distance as the side struggled to find form under three different coaches in six years.
"I just thought it was a great challenge to come back," Foley told media on Thursday. "A couple of months ago, I definitely wasn't considering it, but having conversations with a lot of the coaches or the previous coaches, but then also people in Rugby Australia, excited to come back and to see the Waratahs be successful.
"I think it's been hard to watch from overseas because of the, I suppose, the turnover of coaches. It's been hard for the players, the environment has changed so much, so hopefully trying to come back and bring a bit of stability and as I said, it's a great challenge and something I'm really excited to be a part of now."
Phipps, meanwhile, departed the Waratahs in 2019, when he joined London Irish in the Premiership before joining Foley in Japan, playing four seasons with Green Rockets Tokatsu.
He's likely to play a different role within the group as he works alongside Wallabies halfback Jake Gordon and 23-year-old Teddy Wilson who has signed a one-year contract extension.
"We're players, we're competitive," Phipps told media when asked what he would bring to the group. "We want to be playing. We'll be playing and competing every day, making sure that we're bringing that standard up through our competitiveness.
"But also, it's the little things around the club. I just know when we were at the Tahs last time, we were so lucky to have a lot of sort of older guys come through and just be there. They were reliable when they played, but they were really good for the squad, the depth that they built in the squad and just the impact they have on the group.
"It's easy to get carried away as young blokes when we're there, but they sit on top of us, make sure that we're all still doing the right things, showing us what professionalism was like.
"That's sort of something that really allured to me to come back and be that sort of guy and that helped to a lot of the players that are here, they're so eager, they're training so hard, they're so desperate to do well and, it might be a different generation, but at the end of the day, footy players, they want to compete, they want to be the best they can be and they want to win.
"If we can be a part of that and really help those guys sort of be the best they can be, then at the end of the season we'll consider that a win."
While the Waratahs' bid to go back to the future in signing the experienced duo has raised several eyebrows, the pair insist age is just a number and are ready to prove they're still at the top of their game.
"I feel better than probably when I left here in some regards," Foley said. "My last 12 months my body's felt really good. I haven't had many niggles.
"I also understand the game now at a different level and hopefully will be able to teach that or impart that on some young guys.
"You feel that every year you're involved in the game you grow and you've got different attributes that you can bring back.
"The fact that age is a number and how you manage yourself and get yourself through a pre-season and then a season. But the wisdom and the experiences, that's something you can really offer a team."
The duo were long time Waratahs halves partners after they both made their debuts in 2011, boasting a combined 253 Super Rugby appearances and 147 Test caps for the Wallabies. They pair also claimed silver medals for Australia at the 2010 Commonwealth Games with the Australian sevens team.
Reports of the pair signing with the supposed Australian 'glamour' club had been swirling for several months with the unveiling coming as the club continues to hunt for a new coach.
After another season that saw the side fail to reach the quarterfinals, coach Dan McKellar stepped down from the job citing personal reasons with one year left to play out on his three-year contract. He was the third coach to leave the group in six years with Rob Penney, Darren Coleman and McKellar all failing to find success.
McKellar's resignation coincided with a player exodus with young flyhalf Jack Bowen joining Andrew Kellaway, Charlie Gamble, Joey Walton, Tom Lambert, Jack Debreczeni and Ioane Moananu out the door.
The loss of Bowen is a blow for the side, with the 22-year-old developing as a strong No. 10 option for the Tahs, instead they'll look to 36-year-old Foley to take the lead and run the backline that features Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgernsen and NRL convert Angus Critchon.
"The athletic ability across the board, even in the forward pack, you know, you saw this year how hard they worked and how hard they work for each other and in so many of their games, they were right in it towards the end or they defended their hearts out," Foley said of the young group.
"And then in the back line, there's just so much athletic ability and youth and excitement so yeah, it's something that I can get excited by definitely and looking forward to working with those guys and it's not teaching them anything new, it's just those just trying to free them up and let them be rugby players because they've got all the ability and all the skill already."
Meanwhile, Rugby Australia boss Phill Waugh has stated the group are after a "world-class coach" to lead the group in 2027. Reports include former title-winning coach Michael Cheika as a frontrunner with the former Wallabies coach currently seeing out a one-year deal as an assistant with the NRL's Sydney Roosters.
Stephen Hoiles, Chris Latham and John Manenti are also reportedly in the mix.