By MARK CASHMAN

Randwick were well in the mix to play finals when the pandemic called the Shute Shield off and at different stages of the year threatened to be a major force.

They finished the years in seventh spot but with a wave of Super Rugby and Sevens stars about to populate their ranks they were heading home with a full main sail.

Coach Ben McCormack says the 2021 season will be remembered for the emergence of another flush of good players who have come through their juniors and colts system as well as the leadership shown by Mitch Short, Ben Houston and Jamie Rickward.

All the numbers

Played: Nine

Won: Five

Lost: Four

Points for: 305

Points Against: 236

Differential: +69

Bonus Points: Six

Competition Points: 26

Position: Seventh

What was the best part of the 2021 journey?

We had a large number of debutants this year and a fair number of them were local juniors and colts who have been putting in the hard yards and chasing it for a number of seasons. Watching them putting the jersey on and what that meant to them and their families was special and it’s a nice part of the job to be able to reward those guys for their hard work and development. 

What was the worst part?

COVID…

Who was your “go to” player in the Shute Shield squad?

Impossible to pinpoint one, as I mentioned we had a lot of young guys come through and a good injury rate early doors and with that came a little bit of inconsistency. Ben Houston and Dan O’Brien had a couple of outstanding performances, but it was guys like Mitch Short, Christian Yassmin and Jamie Rickward who performed at a really high level week to week. 

If the season played out who would have played in the grand final?

Randwick and Sydney Uni 

Is the appointment of Darren Coleman at the Waratahs good for the Shute Shield?

Yes 100 percent. After the past few seasons that the Waratahs have had Darren in my mind was without a doubt the best man for the job. A passionate New South Welshman with a deep connection to the community and the club rugby base. Not to mentioned a pretty handy recent record of winning. His existing knowledge and respect for the Shute Shield competition will no doubt strengthen the relationships between the clubs and the Waratahs which can only benefit all parties. 

What needs to happen between now and round one next year? 

Our club’s in a pretty good place at the moment and has good people, systems and processes so we just need to make sure we stay on top of things and keep looking for the marginal gains in all the little areas. Similar with preseason, we’ve found a good rhythm in the past few, so no need to make any whole sale changes just a few tweaks here and there to keep building and pushing for improvements.

Which player(s) do you expect to go on to bigger and better things next year? 

We continue to have a fairly high turn over of players to professional contracts whether that’s here or overseas, and I don’t expect that to change next year. If they keep working hard I think guys like Jackson Mohi, Ben Houston and a couple of others will put themselves in the spotlight and hopefully progress onto bigger things at the end of next season. 

Bold prediction for 2022: 

I think 2022 will be the tightest competition seen for a long time. Seems to be a lot more support and resource around the Two Blues and the Hunter Wildfires which is great for the game. Plus new coaches and staff at a number of clubs who will no doubt be keen to make an impression… I’m tipping 2022 to be a cracker with plenty of upsets. 

IMAGE: KAREN WATSON