Two time premiership winning coach Rob Taylor is back in charge at Sydney Uni and already plotting the Students’ return to the top of the Shute Shield competition.  

Taylor spent last season coaching at UK Premiership club Leicester Tigers but returned to Australia before Christmas to reclaim his previous role at Camperdown. 

“We were in a pretty similar position when I came in 2018 actually. First grade hadn’t gone too well the previous year, they missed the finals, but first grade colts and second grade both won their competitions, as they did again in 2020,” Taylor told Rugby News. 

“There seems to be a lot of hunger. Uni are a club that expect success and when trophies aren’t won, the club expects a bounce back the following year and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Taylor said he tried to keep up to date with the competition in 2020 despite coaching professionally on the other side of the world. 

“Uni had an opportunity to win the majority of games they played in last year. There were only a few where they weren’t really in it,” he said. 

“In some of those losses – Gordon at Chatswood, the final against Norths, Souths at home, they were right in those games but they probably just weren’t as polished in their finishing as they had been in the past and lacked some execution at critical times.”

Despite finishing fourth in a six team finals series, Uni were knocked out in the opening week of the playoffs after a loss to Northern Suburbs. Fifth placed Eastwood upset Easts on the same weekend and went on to play eventual premiers Gordon in the grand final. 

“By midway through the competition it was pretty clear that Gordon were the team to beat and by the end of the season I think most would agree that they thoroughly deserved the premiership,” Taylor said. 

“Eastwood were also really impressive and although Ben Batger would have been disappointed by the end result, his side showed a lot of class.”

Taylor said he was still piecing together Uni’s top squad ahead of the 2021 season but expected a number of players from last year’s premiership winning colts and second grade teams to move into first grade this season. 

“Nothing has really changed in terms of our focus. At Uni, we try to get fit, try to get our set piece right and we install what we think are really high standards,” he said. 

“Like every club you have challenges with player turnover but it’s been great to turn to a colts group coming off a premiership last year, like we did in 2018, and work out how they can fit into the grade squad.

“There are a couple of exciting backs and some really big forwards. It certainly doesn’t look as if Uni’s set piece is going to struggle anytime soon.”

Taylor said star colts Hugh Bokenham, Dan Botha and Papillon Sevele will be three to keep an eye on.  

“I still haven’t actually seen those guys at training yet because they are with the Waratahs Gen Blue squad still so it’s hard to know exactly where they will fit. I’m really looking forward to integrating them into our playing group though and seeing what they are capable of.”

The coach said it was difficult to predict how the 2021 season will play out at this stage and that his side won’t spend a lot of time thinking about their rivals during preseason. 

“I think some clubs will have different looking sides this year, with a lot of players heading to America to play Major League Rugby and also stepping up into Super Rugby. 

“Most teams will probably spend the first few rounds feeling each other out really and trying to work out each others playing identity. 

“If you look at a team like Gordon, they’ve lost a fair few players to professional contracts plus they’ve also got a new coach, so it’s hard to know what to expect.”

Regardless, Taylor said he was thrilled to be back at Camperdown and coaching again in what he considers to be one of the best competitions in the world. 

“I think you’ve got to leave the Shute Shield to really understand just how special a competition it is. It’s one of the main things rugby people asked me about when I was in the UK and when you run into someone that has played or supported the competition, you realise pretty quickly how much love there is for the Shute Shield. 

“The character and quality of the competition is just like nothing else and it’s great to be back involved.”