Riverview won seven of 10 matches in 2023 but that still wasn’t enough to challenge an undefeated Kings outfit for the first XV premiership.

A handful of players from last year’s squad are back for another crack this season though and coach Toby L’Estrange is hoping those returners and some talented youngsters can build cohesion and challenge for the school’s first title since 2011.

Overview with Toby L’Estrange:

“The squad is coming along nicely. A number of players from last year’s group graduated so we’ve got a lot of new faces,” L’Estrange told Rugby News.

“With a fresh group, it always takes a bit of time to get everyone up to speed with how we want to play and build cohesion on and off the field.

“We were fortunate to get a bit of a head start this year by playing a game against St Joseph’s at the end of term one. That gave us an opportunity to look at a few potential combinations before our camp through the school holidays.

“After that, we played trials against Oakhill and Barker so we’ve been able to build a better understanding of the combinations that we think will work best for us in the early rounds of the season.

“Bringing a group together and getting everyone aligned is a long term project. The two round format of this year’s competition will suit us in that sense.

“Our year 11 group had a successful year in the 16s last season and there’s a number of players who have strong skillsets. But they’re under no illusions how hard they need to work to get themselves in a position where they’re able to compete at a first XV level.

“We were proud of the work ethic of last year’s 1^st XV. When you look back on a season, you ask yourselves whether you got the most out of each other and I think we can honestly say that we did that in 2023.

“King’s were an outstanding team. They had some good individual players and they were well coached so they deserved their victory.”

What style of rugby will we see from Riverview this year? 

“We want to play a tough, relentless style of rugby where we can apply pressure on teams through our defence and our kicking game,” the coach explained.

“As we become more cohesive and layer in more detail in attack, then we’ll always want to be a team that can identify space and then back our skill to attack it at speed.”

2024 Squad: 

“Our 16s had a good season last year and we’re excited to see what some of those boys can do.

“In 2023, we decided to keep all our 16s players that weren’t going to play first XV in their own age group so that they could learn to dominate a contest and build confidence through their performances.

This year we combine those guys with a solid group of Year 12s returning. It’s close to a 50/50 split.

“The returning players know what it takes to prepare and compete at a first XV level so we’re expecting them to help get the best out of the less experienced guys in the group.”

What are you expecting from the season ahead? 

“Looking across the competition, it again looks like a quality field,” L’Estrange said.

“Shore have shown very good trial form and will be full of confidence.

“Scots have a number of players returning from last year, which will hold them in good stead. 

“Then you know that a St Joseph’s, King’s or Newington side will always be packed with talent across the park.

“But we don’t get into this because it’s easy. We’re preparing for a comp where we will be challenged every week and one in which we know we’ll have to earn everything. 

“We’re confident that we’ve got players in our squad that are up for that sort of fight”