By Jonathan B Geddes

INTERNATIONAL back Rodney Iona played for the Brumbies in 2014 and is proving age shall not weary him as he makes a big impact in the Shute Shield with the Western Sydney Two Blues.

While he may be 34-years-old, the Samoan Test No.10 has become an influential figure at his new club on and off the field after a career also including stints at the Western Force, in France, Britain, Spain and the MLR. 

The Two Blues players have benefited from their new skipper’s experience and professionalism, which was evident as his cool head under pressure helped the team secure a 30-27 comeback win over Eastwood at TG Millner Field on Saturday

“We’ve got the best version of Rodney,” the club’s director of rugby Sailosi Tagicakibau told Rugby News. “He’s very settled, and the way he is approaching not only first grade but the club is setting a good example for everyone around him.”

A great initiative is that the whole club meets before each training session to receive feedback.

“Rodney likes to share words with our Colts and give them some encouragement because he knows how important they are,” Tagicakibau said.

“To get feedback from someone with that CV encourages those Colts players to stay engaged, to stay at the Two Blues and know there is a pathway to our grade program.”

TRUE BLUE RESULTS 

SATURDAY’S victory capped a memorable day for the Two Blues, who won seven of the nine senior grades. Second grade (24-22), third grade (36-26), first grade Colts (48-33) and second grade Colts (40-12) all defeated Eastwood at TG Millner Field.

The Two Blues women’s teams beat Souths (33-3) and Chifley (19-15).

“I think that’s the growth we are showing now,” Tagicakibau said. “Over the past years, we’ve been really top-focused, and over the summer we’ve worked hard to make sure we’ve got the right people involved.”      

The icing on the cake was the Shute Shield victory where the Two Blues fought back from a 19-5 deficit and played a tense final five minutes one man down as Eastwood hammered their line.           

“I was very happy to get the win first and foremost and staying in the fight against a very good Eastwood side,” Tagicakibau said. “We knew it was going to be really tough under their new coach and some good signings over the summer.”

It was also Tagicakibau’s first win at Eastwood since he joined the club.

“History has been pretty tough for us over there,” he said.

FORWARD IMPACT 

KIWI No.7 Braden Stewart, who joined the club after winning a premiership in Perth last season, played a decisive role in the Two Blues’ spirited win.

His only blemish was receiving a yellow card at the death as his team held their three-point winning lead.

“He was unlucky to receive that yellow card at the end, but up until that point he has really added a bit of pressure on ball, which we haven’t had of that quality in the past,” Tagicakibau said. “He is also leading our defence this year, and you can see we have really stepped up in that space.”

Another player to make a big impact was powerhouse No.13 Isaac Te Tamaki, who scored one try with a 60m run and set up another for No.9 Rilloy Suesue with a spectacular kick while being tackled. Those were both classic examples of how potent the Two Blues’ attack can be.

The result has put the Two Blues in eighth spot on 10 points, just behind fifth-placed Norths (11), Eastwood (11) and Sydney University (10).

“With the group we’ve got, we’ve set some high standards for ourselves,” Tagicakibau said. “We’re starting to find our feet now, a lot of guys are new to the competition, and I’m hoping we keep getting better every game.”

This Saturday, the Two Blues face what will be a fired-up Randwick chasing their first win at Coogee Oval.

“Randwick is always tough, last year we got a spanking from them when we went over there,” Tagicakibau said. “Randwick is a club rich in history, you never underestimate them and we know how tough they are.

“We’ve got to be prepared, we want to make sure we are coming away with another win.”