When it comes to this year’s injury toll at the Waratahs, a wild-eyed Geoff Toovey said it best: “There’s gotta be an investigation.”

The sight of a distraught Harry Johnson-Holmes limping off with a ruptured Achilles tendon on Saturday night was gut-wrenching, and coach Darren Coleman was shown in the box grabbing his head and mouthing a few four-letter words in disbelief.

With three games left, the loss of Johnson-Holmes for the season – who ruptured an Achilles only two years ago – meant the Waratahs have none of their contracted front-rowers left. Zero. Zip. Zilch.

At the start of the year, NSW had seven props and three hookers, but throughout a disappointing season, all have picked up serious injuries. They even lost a fourth hooker, and throw in two more players sidelined for the season – including Max Jorgensen – and one-third of the Waratahs’ full-time squad is crocked.

The obvious question is, why? When you have 13 season-ending injuries, how much of the blame can be sheeted to bad luck, and how much sits with the Waratahs’ system?

To prevent it happening again, answers must be an urgent priority. Encouragingly, the Waratahs agree, and even before they lost their last two front-rowers last week, Waratahs officials had written to Rugby Australia to begin the process of commissioning an external review.

“The NSW Waratahs are devastated for all the players who have suffered significant........

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