St Laurence’s were undefeated in 2020 and claimed a shared premiership with Marist last season. 

Coach Welmar du Plessis said his boys were desperate to play last year’s final but have a new found belief heading into a 2021 season that will begin with a match that should have been last year’s decider. 

Overview with Welmar du Plessis:

“Everyone is really excited to get started this weekend. Obviously playing our big rivals Marist this weekend in round one is exciting,” du Plessis told Rugby News. 

“We got started back in term four so we’ve been training with a big squad for quite a while now. That worked really well because all the boys have pushed each other and it created competition for spots. 

“We narrowed that down a little in term one and I’m really happy with the squad we’ve got for the season ahead. There are some good year 12 boys and some exciting year 11s pushing through as well. 

“We’ve worked really hard on our strength and conditioning again this year as we have over the last few years. The boys are getting bigger, faster, stronger and fitter and that’s something we probably lacked a little a few years ago. 

“It was a bit of an up and down season last year with Covid but it was great to get the monkey off the back and claim a joint premiership with Marist. 

“Even though it was a short season and we didn’t get to play the final against Ashgrove, I think it gave the guys a lot of confidence and a belief that they can win premierships. 

“We’ve probably lacked that confidence and belief a little in the past so it’ll be great to take that momentum into this season.”

What style of rugby can we expect to see this season? 

“The Lauries identity is to play a tough, structured, forward dominant game where we focus on the fundamentals of the game and our set piece. 

“We don’t want to go away from that but we also have some exciting backs this year and a lot of speed out wide. 

“We want to do the basics well up front as usual and then get the ball to the quick guys out wide. We probably haven’t had as much out and out speed as we have this year, so it’ll be exciting to see.”

2021 Squad: 

“We’ve got a pretty senior squad this year and a year 12 group that has had plenty of success throughout the age groups. 

“There are a few positions though where we have some really exciting year 11 boys pushing in to the side and that is great to see. 

“It’s probably a 70/30 split between the year 12 and year 11 boys and plenty of quality throughout.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“Our captain Harry Holt will be in for a big year. He’s made the move from hooker to No.8. He’s a really explosive player, he comes from a good rugby family and he’s got great skills and game knowledge and understanding. 

“We’ve also got a really good No.9, Thomas Parker Ryan he played first XV last year and has a great all round game. 

“We’ve got an exciting winger Oscar Hawes. He’s brutal in defence and sets the standard for the rest of the team. 

“Then we’ve got a good up and coming playing named Joe Nadenic. He’s only in year 11 but he’s a very explosive runner and he reminds me a lot of our captain from last year John Bryant, who is now in the Reds academy.”

Bold prediction for the season ahead: 

“Our focus has been solely on Ashgrove in round one up until this point because that is a massive game for us. Every game is a final in schoolboy rugby and you’ve got to be up every week or you will lose and your season can get away from you. 

“It’s a tough comp this year and I think there are probably four teams that on their day can beat one another, which is probably the most open it has been in quite a while. 

“It’s going to be an exciting season.”