Following the graduation of the majority of Kings’ 2023 undefeated premiership winning side, Hugh Perrett and James Hilgendorf took the youngest squad in last year’s GPS competition to within a win or two of an unlikely title.

The bulk of those players are back in 2025 and appear eager for a second crack at the first XV competition.

Overview with Hugh Perrett:

“It’s a short and sharp preseason at Kings because of the rowing season and we only get limited trials but I think we’re heading in the right direction,” co-coach Hugh Perrett told Rugby News. 

“We got a few back for our trial last week against Newington and finished the game well. 

“We probably could have lost that game by 30 points because they had a lot of momentum in certain periods of the game. 

“But we were able to turn the tide and hold on for a tight win. 

“Looking back at last season, you’d have to say we overperformed and did really well with a young side. 

“We had one poor game against Shore at home, but besides that we were only really one more win off being in contention. 

“It was just such a tight season with everyone beating everyone. I haven’t seen a season like it in 10 years. 

“We also beat Joeys twice, which is always important for Kings. So I was proud of our young group, that’s for sure.”

2025 Squad: 

“We’re hoping to build on what we did last year because we had a lot of young players that stood up and led the team at a young age.

“Most of those guys are back again this year, we’ve probably only lost three or four. 

“We’ve lost some height at lineout time, but our backline is pretty much exactly the same.”

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

“I think we’ll look at what we need to do each week to win and plan a game plan around that,” the coach said. 

“We don’t have the size of a Newington, they were massive, but we handled them okay. 

“We always want to play with a fair bit of ball movement and we’ve got some really exciting players that can do that.

“But at the end of the day, the objective of first XV rugby is to win so you can’t be adventurous all the time.”

What are you expecting across the competition this year? 

“Trial form can be a little misleading but I’ve got to say that after playing Newington, I’d suggest they’ll be right up there,” Perrett predicted. 

“I’d expect Joeys and Scots to be strong but I’ve heard they’ve both had a few injuries. Riverview are always competitive as well. 

“I don’t think anyone will run away with it this year. It’ll be tight again.”