NSW Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson believes his Super Rugby side will be the big winners from this year’s National Rugby Championship, with a host of young stars impressing in the third tier competition.

After disappointing results in 2014 and 2015, Gibson admitted the Waratahs have embraced the competition more in 2016 and are set to benefit next year.

Fielding just three teams this season, NSW will host both semi finals this weekend, with minor premiers NSW Country to host Melbourne in Newcastle and the Sydney Rays to play Perth at Warringah.

“All three teams performed really well and in particular, I was pleased with the Waratahs players,” Gibson told Rugby News.

“The whole concept of the NRC is to give the younger players in our squad an opportunity to play some rugby at a higher level and we’ve seen just how valuable that can be.”

For the second straight season, the Waratahs have said goodbye to a host of high profile players, yet Gibson seems confident that a number of his young stars are now ready to play Super Rugby on the back of strong Shute Shield and NRC seasons.

“I’m more and more comfortable with the majority of the squad now, in fact, there isn’t a single player that I don’t think is ready to play Super Rugby,” he said.

“That’s the great thing, this competition is designed to create Super Rugby players and from a Waratahs perspective, I’m very comfortable with where our players are at and I think I’d be comfortable to throw any number of them out in that first game against the Force next year.”

Although the squad still has a gruelling pre-season and a number of trials next year to get through, Gibson said the form of some of his younger players will likely create some selection headaches early next year.

“Jake Gordon has taken every opportunity this year. His Shute Shield form with Sydney Uni was great and now at the next level, he’s continued to get better and we’ve seen real improvement in his game.

“Then you’ve got guys like Senio Toleafoa at the Rams, he’s been able to play week in, week out and he’s taken on some more responsibility at the line out so that has been great for his development. I’ve been really pleased with Ned Hanigan, he’s probably been one of the form locks of the competition.”

Gibson says there will be genuine competition for a number of jerseys next season, something he expects will only benefit the Waratahs.

“I look at our props, we’ve got Paddy Ryan and Angus Ta’avao and they’ll have to compete against Sekope (Kepu) and Tom (Robertson) and that will be an excellent battle.

“At halfback and hooker, there is plenty of competition. It was disappointing that Roachy (Hugh Roach) didn’t get to play, but Tolu Latu and Damien Fitzpatrick have both been great and those three will need to compete.

“Irae (Simone) has been one of the finds of the year on the back of his form at Norths and Dave (Horwitz) has got plenty of game time which has allowed him to keep progressing. We spoke to Irae a year ago when he was considering rugby and I think he made the right choice, he’s got a bright future ahead of him if he continues to play like he has been.”

After beating the Crusaders, Gibson’s former side, to win the Super Rugby final in 2014, the Waratahs lost to the Highlanders in a semi final in 2015 and finished 10^th this season. With two NSW teams in the playoffs, Gibson said there is a good opportunity to begin to rebuild a winning culture at Moore Park in the coming fortnight.

“It’s important for players to understand what it requires to be successful and what it takes to be part of a successful team, but regardless of the results, from a Waratahs perspective, we’ll definitely consider this NRC season a success.

“Any of the four teams now are capable of getting through to the final and winning it but it would be disappointing for the NSW teams to fall short now.”

Heading into his second year as head coach, the former New Zealand international admitted both he and the team are in a better position to be successful in 2017.

“I think we’re looking good for the next three to five years, we’re going to be a very stable team. We’ve got a good mix of experience, youth and enthusiasm and you can definitely feel a new energy in the team.

“Over the last two years, we’ve undergone a great change and we’ve gone through a bit of a transitional period so I’m looking forward to having a really stable squad for the next few years.”

While he admitted the New Zealand sides are a long way ahead of their competition at the moment, the former All Black said he is confident the Waratahs and Australian rugby will bounce back.

“Things go in cycles and at the moment, we’re in a cycle where the New Zealand teams have had a very good year. The challenge for the rest of us is to look at that performance level and understand where the benchmark is and then try to match it.

“At the moment we’re chasing that and that makes you hungry and gives you plenty of desire to be successful.”