Following an up and down 2024 campaign and a tour to New Zealand last month, Riverview coach Toby L’Estrange appears confident his side will be up to the challenge in 2025.

Riverview open their campaign against an in-form Newington side this weekend and Rugby News caught up with Iggies’ coach ahead of round one on Saturday.

Overview with Toby L’Estrange:

“We’re excited about the challenge ahead this season and we’re happy with where we’re at ahead of round one,” first XV coach Toby L’Estrange told Rugby News.

“The players who were available worked hard through that off-season period to try to prepare themselves physically for the season ahead. We also toured  New Zealand in the holidays which gave us a good base to build from.

“In Auckland we played against Kelston Boys’ High and that was a physical challenge and then we went down to Cambridge, just outside Hamilton, and played St. Peter’s down there, who were a bit more mobile and challenged other areas of our game.

“They were both good hits out and it was great to see the group come closer together off the field.

“The tour gave us a good chunk of time together on field, which helped us develop the way we want to play this year.  And just as importantly, it helped us build clarity on our identity as a group off the field.”

2025 Squad: 

“We’ve got a squad of quality young men first and foremost. We’ve got some leaders returning from last season who have got a good understanding of the physicality, the athleticism and the fitness that is needed to compete and ultimately win at the top level.

“They are the ones driving the standards, which is exactly what we want to see.

“We’ve got a number of players returning in the forwards, and we’re looking forward to watching those boys lead from the front.

“Then we’ve got a handful of boys coming in from last year’s 16As and they’ve earnt the right to compete at this level.

What sort of rugby will we see from St Ignatius’ this year?

“We took a lot out of our time in New Zealand. On top of the two games we played, we also trained with local players and coaches, which was a unique opportunity for both our players and coaches to question, reflect and develop.

“Our group is proud of our school’s history and know what it means to represent our community at this level. We hope that shows up in the passion our players display.

“On field, we want to be physical, fast and smart in the way that we attack with and without the ball.”

“We know we’re never going to be the biggest team in the competition but we can be tough and we can be relentless and we can leave everything out on the field week in, week out.

What are you expecting across the competition this season? 

“We’ve been predominantly focusing on ourselves, as I’m sure most teams are at this point of the year.

“But across the board, there’s a number of schools that have a lot of returning players who will all be stronger from the experiences they gained last season.

“So we’re expecting a high-quality, tightly contested competition.

“We’ve seen that Newington look strong. They’ve had some good trial form from what I can see. 

“We’ve got them round one away which is traditionally a very hard place to come away with points from. So we’re looking forward to that challenge and finding out where we stand.”