After missing the playoffs for the second straight season, Sydney Uni coach Todd Louden appears confident his young squad are ready to match it with the top end of the Shute Shield competition.

Louden has bolstered his squad with a few older, more experienced forwards in the hope of pushing the Students towards the finals this season.

Overview with Todd Louden:

“I think every year is a big year in the Shute Shield, and on the back of blooding a lot of young players in 2024, we’re in a really good position in terms of our depth and quality,” Louden told Rugby News.

“We’re still young but we accelerated our experience last season within the squad.”

“We have had senior players like Henry Clunies-Ross, Tim Clements and Eddie Poolman retire at the end of last season, and they take a lot of experience with them.

“It tends to happen at all university rugby clubs and particularly at Sydney Uni when players finish their degrees, they focus quickly on moving through the ranks in their career. While they are at uni and for a couple of seasons after they are usually good to continue playing, but a lot of them take on jobs where, eventually, the hours don’t allow for rugby.

“That’s part of the core values of our club and whilst that means we need regenerate the squad often and it makes squad stability challenging, developing and coaching high achievers and watching them aim for high performance whether it be in their career, their social life, their family life or rugby is very rewarding.

“We played a trial a few weeks ago against the Brumbies academy team, which was a good hit out.”

“We saw a lot of what we’ve been practising, particularly in defence and we were leading for a fair section of the game until probably the last 10 minutes.

“We put on a lot of our younger players towards the end of the match to get more experience and I think that will benefit us later in the season.

“We are also playing Canberra Royals, Gordon and Easts in trials, then we’ll have a weekend to prepare for round one.”

2024: 7th (7 wins, 11 losses)

Ins: Ben Grant (Waratahs), Ethan Dobbins (Waratahs), Lucas Ripley (Waratahs), Nathaniel Panozzo (Gordon), Cameron Wood (Gordon)

Outs: Oskar Hicks (Norths), Hugh Bell (Norths), Jamie Clark (Norths), Henry Clunies-Ross (retired), Tim Clements (retired), Eddie Poolman (retired)

What sort of rugby will we see from Sydney Uni this year? 

“Well in the trial we played against the Brumbies academy the other day, there wasn’t a single box kick,” Louden explained.

“The laws of the game are opening things up, which should make an entertaining season.

“Uni prides themselves on fitness, work ethic and an ability to adapt in a game, and we’ll aim to continue that.

“Last year we added several elements to our play that we think will hold us in good stead for this year.

“I’m not saying the box kick is out of the game, but it’s interesting how the laws have opened the game up as you can in Super Rugby at the moment with the high scores we’re seeing.”

Player(s) to watch: 

“It’s tough to pick just one because we have a lot of good young players pushing through,” the coach said.

“Sam Allsopp was outstanding last year and deservedly won the Shute Shield rookie of the year award. Based on what he’s been doing at training, he’ll be one to watch again.

“We’ve also got a young guy by the name of Benji Joseland, who is an exciting utility back. I think he’s going to be something special and I think Jack Matthews is also probably due for a breakout year.

“Then in the forwards, I think Nathaniel Panozzo will have a really good influence on our forward pack. Cameron Wood has developed over the off-season and Paddy Tagg is also due for another big year as well.”

Which two teams will play in this year’s grand final? 

“I think it’ll be us and Easts,” Louden predicted.

“It’s one of the best rivalries in the Shute Shield and based on the depth and quality that they’ve got, I think they’ll be in the mix again.

“Norths will also be up there.

“Looking at us now and projecting forward, I think we’ll be much improved and we’ll be a lot more balanced right across the squad.”