2022 Shute Shield Season Review: Sydney University
Image: Karen Watson
A fairly young Sydney Uni side were the benchmark of the competition for much of 2022 and deservingly claimed the Shute Shield premiership after a tight tussle with Gordon in the decider.
After winning a title in his first season at the club, coach Sean Hedger has returned to his family on the Far North NSW coast but couldn’t speak highly enough of his time at arguably the most dominant and successful rugby club in Australia.
Overview with Sean Hedger:
“It ended up being a fantastic season for us at Sydney Uni but truthfully, it was just a real thrill to be involved in the Shute Shield competition this year,” Hedger told Rugby News.
“Almost everyone you spoke to throughout the year couldn’t believe the closeness of the competition and all the upsets each week. It was great to be a part of.
“From a Uni perspective, it was a very, very satisfying premiership. Talking to some of the older guys in the group, they said it was one of their more satisfying wins because they had their backs against the wall the whole time and they had so many players that had left the club the year before.
“They also didn’t dominate on the back of an influx of Super Rugby players returning. The core group that started the season was the core group that won the grand final and they were very pleased about that.
“It’s an amazing rugby club and I really enjoyed my year there.
“Culture is an overused word in sport, but the culture that exists at that club, it existed long before I got there and it’ll be there long after I’ve left.
“It’s a culture of winning and I think it’s very true that culture is the sum of your behaviours.
“All of their behaviours and all of their actions are based on what has led them to success in the past and what they understand they need to do to be successful again. The older players are very conscious of passing those lessons on to the younger players so that they know what they’ll need to do to be successful in the future as well.
“How they train, how they review, how they prepare, how they act on game day. It’s all based on the club’s past success and winning and it’s pretty infectious.
“The other big advantage the club has is the longevity they get out of their players. Jack McCalman is a great example. He arrived in colts straight out of school and he’s now leading the side as a 26-year old. Henry Clunies-Ross is another example, so is Timmy Clements.
“The trend in the Shute Shield at the moment is for clubs to buy or recruit experienced players to try and influence their club right away but those players might only be there for one or two years.
“Jack McCalman bleeds blue and gold and he has been their for his entire senior rugby career. He’s won premierships in colts, in second grade and now in first grade. It’s those sort of people at the club that ensure that culture survives.
“There aren’t many other clubs that have players that have been there for six, eight, ten years.
“Even the players that do go off and play professionally, they all want to come back and play. Tom English is a great example of that. He wanted nothing more during his off season in Japan then to come back and play with the Students and he was even happy to play second grade, which he did for his first two matches.
“The way he spoke to the young guys and the way the young guys looked up to Tom, it was fantastic to see.”
How do you look back on the grand final against Gordon
“Gordon were fantastic and they were able to nullify our biggest weapon, our maul. Losing our hooker early on in the game didn’t help but I think credit needs to go to Gordon for shutting us down.
“They also identified a few of our weaknesses and scored a few tries out wide where we were forced to make changes leading into the game.
“They put together and executed a really good game plan.
“But our guys were able to adapt and when our maul wasn’t working, they identified that and decided to hit them with something else. We adapted and started to hold the ball for long periods of time and that helped us get the result.”
Which of your players do you expect to go on to bigger things from next season?
“A bunch of guys have taken up opportunities elsewhere already. Will Goddard is heading overseas, so is Eddie Poolman. I’m really pleased to see Charlie Hancock get an opportunity at the Western Force. He was outstanding at prop all year, even when he had to play 80 minutes which he did for a lot of the year.
“There are a few others that are probably one more solid year of first grade away. Angus Allen and Sevele Papillon are both really promising players. I think Pappy is training with the Force over summer actually.
“I’m also glad to see Henry Robertson get another chance at Super Rugby in Perth.
“Darcy Breen is another young prop who will continue to develop. Sammy Talakai spent a lot of time with him and was full of praise for Darcy, which is a pretty good indication that he’s got something.”
What can we expect in 2023 from your club and the competition?
“I expect more of the same from Uni. Even though there are a large number of players moving on, reserve grade were in the grand final this year and there is a lot of young talent in that side. For the majority of the season, the reserve grade team had five to seven colts in the starting side.
“I think Jude Gibbs will push into the playmaker role in first grade and he’ll do a great job. The fact that Damien Hill is stepping up from assistant coach to head coach, I think they’ll have a fair bit of continuity there which will help. Mark Bakewell is also staying on as forwards coach, he’s fantastic around the set piece.
“For the competition, it’s hard to say at this point. I think Western Sydney and Hunter will continue to improve, it’ll be interesting to see how Souths bounce back with a bit more stability at the club.
“I think Easts might be the club that really pushes on. They won three and a half of the seven premierships this year, one was a joint premiership. They won reserve grade and they had a lot of young guys in first grade as well.”