By MARK CASHMAN

The perfect season was certainly in the offing when the pandemics pulled the shutters down on the 2021 Shute Shield season for Sydney Uni.

Nine wins from nine starts, 431 points for and a frugal 142 conceded demonstrated that the Students were well on the way to one of those years after the stumbles of the season before.

They overcame numerous hurdles including a change of coach from Rob Taylor (off to the NEC Green Rockets in Japan) to Phil Blake but little changed in the way they went about their business

And with a selection of Super Rugby stars on the way back they were short odds to add to the title list.

Rugby News spoke to Blake, who will guide the rebuild of the Manly Marlins next season, about the season that almost was in 2021.

All the numbers

Played: Nine

Won: Nine

Lost: Nil

Points for: 431

Points Against: 142

Differential: +289

Bonus Points: Nine

Competition Points: 45

Position: First

What was the best part of the 2021 journey?

For me it was being part of a very special group of players plus the opportunity to see first hand how Sydney Uni approaches its rugby program. There are a lot of good people there doing an excellent job.

What was the worst part?

The obvious disappointment was that this group didn’t have the opportunity to see how far they could go – they certainly put themselves in a position to have a special season

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

It would be hard to single out any one individual – all I can say is they were a special group of players, highly dedicated and craving success. That has flowed on since the season finished with more than a handful of players and other getting opportunities in professional set ups.

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

When the season was closed down because of the pandemic we were just entering a very interesting part of the season where we played a whole flush of teams who were rightly considered to have the ability to contend. So I think it would be disrespectful to nominate any one team in particular

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

I reckon it is a fantastic appointment. It’s a real breakthrough as kit shows that the decision makers now understand that their is some outstanding coaching talent here in NSW.

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

The short answer is hark work and lots of it. That’s the work ethic and Uni and I can’t see that changing too much in the fuiture. Hopefully all players are driven to perform at a standard that allows them to progress to the next level – great opportunities await for those who are prepared to work.

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

Like my answer to my “go to” in the Shute Shield, there are too many to single anyone out but the production line at Uni will continue to produce.

Bold prediction for 2022: 

This isn’t really that bold a statement but I reckon that next year is going to be one of the closest seasons in the history of the Shute Shield.

IMAGE: KAREN WATSON