By MARK CASHMAN

By the time we get to this time of the year most Shute Shield coaches just want to get on with the season, play for some competition points and see where they are at.

That’s very much the case for Eastern Suburbs coach Pauli Taumoepeau as he puts the finishing touches to his side for the match of the round against Southern Districts at Woollahra Oval on Saturday.

But Taumoepeau is particularly interested in seeing the continued development of his new skipper, lock Jack Digby.

“Jack has been our leader right throughout this pre-season even before any thought went into who’ll step in for Jack Grant whilst he’s on Super Rugby duties,” Taumoepeau told Rugby News.