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.

“He showed glimpses of leadership last year which has come from his own confidence in his game.

“Jack’s your typical club leader – played Colts and then moved into the Grade ranks, you just can’t see him in another clubs colours. He’s Easts through and through.

“Importantly like Jack Grant, Jack Digby has the respect of the players around him.”

The Beasties go into the 2021 season as one of the more favoured outfits with their depth and off-season player pick ups putting them in the “watch out for” list.

But as Taumoepeau told Rugby News earlier in the year they want to get off to a flyer in the opening rounds, something that just didn’t happen in 2020.

Early season wins and playing in a consistent and pragmatic fashion will pave the way for success at the back end of the Shute Shield, he said.

The Beasties have picked up a few “stars” from the Waratahs for this weekend with scrum half Jack Grant and backrower Charlie Gamble available.

Their presence will be invaluable and I am sure Digby will appreciate the presence of last year’s skipper as he negotiates the foibles of being in the bloke in charge.

“It’s all pretty new to me so it’s hard to know when the best time to talk is or when it’s best to just lead the way,” Digby said. “But coming so close last year has really motivated us to get things done this year.”

Souths were the Shute Shield’s “rocks or diamonds” side last year, pulling off some heroic victories including one over Sydney Uni at Uni, and played some pretty good footy.

But injuries, many season ending, some career ending, pulled the mat from their momentum at critical times.

Head coach Todd Louden and the board though have worked hard and pulled together a structure at Forshaw that has a considerable amount of vision about it.

There are a whole swath of new faces at the club and the build up to this season has been solid.

Louden doesn’t mind the fact that they start the season against a team considered to be a competition heavyweight.

“It’s actually good to get a game like this first up so we can see where we are at,” Louden said.

“We are at that stage of our development where we need to spend time together and develop some cohesion. You know connecting and getting to know each other.

“We have come together quite well actually so the feedback that we get from Saturday will be a vital part of our development.”

While Souths’ Kiwi recruit Josh Bokser has been getting many of the wraps in the Shire, Louden says he is feeling very comfortable with all of his backrowers.

“I’ve got big wraps on all of them,” Louden said.

“I reckon Angus Allen, our opensider, is going to have a huge season while Phil Potgeiter at No.8 has been one of the more consistent backrowers in the competition in recent times.”

As they say let’s get on with the business of footy.

At Sydney Uni No.2 ground one of the more intriguing games will play out when Uni take on the Hunter Wildfires.

The Students were knocked out in the first week of the finals last year in a game against Northern Suburbs that was well within their grasp.

Rob Taylor returned from the UK and underlying theme from their pre-season was to work bloody hard and get better.

Word around the traps is that Taylor and their S&C team have really been tipping the training volumes into the playing group and that they are ready to go.

“It’s part of the DNA at Uni,” Taylor said.

“It’s what I like to do with my teams it makes them more robust and from my point of view it’s easier when the players want to work hard too and that’s the case.

“Obviously keen to get underway and like all coaches see where we are at but the mindset we are having to this game is that we’re approaching the Wildfires as the best team in competition and adjust from there.”

There will be a string of debut for the Students with scrum half Henry Robertson playing first grade for the first time even though he made his Super Rugby debut for the Tahs a fortnight ago.

Luke Ratcliffe, Josh Schwager and centre Eddie Pullman will join Robertson on the debut list.

It’s a big day for the group from the Hunter with Scott Coleman and his Shute Shield squad hopping on a bus at 9am in Newcastle so they can clap on their colts and reserve grade side at Uni.

“We just thought that it’s important to make sure there is a club feel about the Wildfires,” Coleman said. “The little things sometimes are the most important.”

The Wildfires will present a huge challenge for the Students and as many clubs will find you under estimate them at your own risk.

IMAGE: AJF PHOTOGRAPHY