By MARK CASHMAN

A lot of things go into making a successful footy club. Stuff like sound administration, knowledgable coaching that engages the playing group, a first rate S&C program and of course having the “good cattle” capable of making it all happen under pressure.

But Randwick, who head into Round Eight of the Shute Shield this weekend with six wins from their seven outings so far and sitting second on the competition ladder, may well have stumbled onto a magic elixir brewed in the deep south of the South Island of New Zealand.

Prop George Hendry, No.8 Kyle Harris, winger Josh Gordon and Sean Conner are four Kiwis who met while studying at the University of Otago in Dunedin and have made their way over the ditch and to Sydney’s eastern suburbs to kick start their working lives.

The power of four if you like and it’s given the Galloping Greens a momentum that hasn’t been apparent for a number of seasons.

“The idea when we came over to Sydney was to kick start our working lives and have a good time,” Hendry, who has acquired the nickname ‘Chiss’ because of his ripped frame and chiselled jaw line, said.

“We’d all given the rugby thing a good go while we were studying at uni and had got to the stage where we weren’t quite cracking it.

“We still wanted to play at a good level and enjoy our rugby, but the time had come to settle down a bit and get on with life.

“Sean was already over in Sydney and playing at Randwick and said there might be some opportunities at Coogee Oval.

“So within a couple of weeks we were on a plane, winging our way over to Sydney and it’s been great.”

That was at the start of 2019 and after a pretty tough year things have turned this season under the coaching of Ben McCormack and Morgan Turinui.

Hendry, is 27 and works as a physio features in the Galloping Greens front row at either loose-head or tight-head, Harris, 26, is part of a hard working back row while the 26-year-old ConnEr, after a season-ending ankle injury, is the top grade’s manager and social co-ordinator.

Harris and ConnEr grew up together in the Central Otago town of Alexandra moving to Dunedin to study commerce at the University of Otago. They now have work in the stock market.

Gordon, or ‘Flash’ as he is known, has the best rugby CV of the four having been part of Sir Gordon Tietjens’ NZ sevens squad and had time playing professionally in both Japan and Hong Kong.

His season came to a full stop in the trials when he snapped his Achilles tendon and won’t be back on to the field until next year but has taken on a “morale officer” role with the first grade group.

They all live together in an apartment block in what is considered by many at the Galloping Greens as their default clubhouse.

“It’s actually turned into a bit of social hub for the boys and we have always said that we have an open door policy,” Harris said.

“Some of the guys have sometimes taken that a little bit too literally, but it’s somewhere where we always seem to end up after a game. It’s great.”

Being good Kiwi boys they knew the names of many of the Randwick legends who still are prominent in and around the club but weren’t across all the detail.

“Early on I went to a club dinner and sat next to this bloke with a moustache who seemed like a good guy and everyone kept coming up to our table, shaking his hand and paying their respects,” Turner said.

“But when the jockey Jimmy Cassidy (the Kiwi Melbourne Cup winning hoop) came over to say hello I knew I was next to someone pretty special and would have to Google up Bob Dwyer and get across what he had achieved.”

There’s that feel at a home game at Coogee Oval which all four say is the best ground in the world.

“The crowds even in these Covid times are great at all the grounds and they really get into what is going on on the field,” Harris said.

“But the Randwick supporters have a certain way of looking at things and the fact that they are so close to the touchline at Coogee means they can all play a role in the way that games play out.”

There is a healthy respect for the quality of the Shute Shield competition amongst the four.

“It’s the best club competition in the world,” Harris said without too much prompting.

“It’s played at great pace, is very physical, and there is a lot of untapped talent on show each week. There are no gimme games.

“I don’t know too much about the pathways up to Super Rugby here in Australia but it’s surprising that the quality of the Shute Shield hasn’t had a more direct effect on the results further up the tree. I’m sure it will turn at some stage.”

One of the things that has struck the boys was the distinct difference in the way that a club like Randwick trains to what they had been used to in New Zealand at their south island clubs Southern and Kaikorai.

“There’s a lot more focus on skill work in New Zealand,” Harris observed.

“Over here there is some of that sort of stuff done but a lot of the emphasis is on doing live contact work.

“I suppose that’s because at a club like Randwick you have something like seven sides trying to get stuff done in limited space.

“In NZ you can punch out a lot of skills grids as you are generally working with one team and you can really get through a lot of that.”

Whichever way that you look there are many at Coogee Oval who are glad that these four Kiwis are part of our bubble!

IMAGE: RANDWICK RUGBY SUPPLIED