2014 Season Preview: Warringah

by Paul Cook –

The run-in to the 2013 season didn’t offer ideal preparation for Warringah with then coach Sam Harris accepting a late offer from Japan – with the club’s blessing – to further his promising coaching career, and rookie Haig Sare stepping up to the plate for his coaching initiation only three weeks before the opening weekend of competition.

The former Western Force utility back learned quickly as his side got off to a highly promising start before a fallow mid-season period knocked them back down the ladder and ultimately cost them a finals spot – they missed out on points differential to Randwick – despite a late season charge.

Blessed with an abundance of young talent, Sare’s challenge this year is to add some much needed starch up front to complement a free-scoring backline and with the club celebrating its 50th year, the timing is perfect for the next generation of Rats to stamp their authority on the Shute Shield. As Rugby News found out, Sare feels they’re definitely heading in the right direction…

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First up Haig, how was your first year of coaching?

“I felt more comfortable as the year progressed. It wasn’t something I’d ever aspired to or really thought about but when the opportunity arose, I was keen. To start with, I was a little bit unsure of myself and what sort of style I should implement but as the season went on I felt more confident and I felt that the guys responded to me and I developed a style of approach through that. I enjoyed it.”

What was the hardest part of making that transition from coach to player?

“The frustration of practicing something, a certain scenario within a game and then it would arise and you think ‘We’ve got this, we know what to do here’ and then the boys seem to forget it! I remember coaches saying to me, particularly John Mulvihill, my old backs coach at the Force, he said ‘Players have short memories on occasions, once you start coaching, you’ll see’ and I had that ringing in my ears as the guys forgot something that we’d only just practiced so yeah, that’s frustrating!”

The lead-in to the start of the season wasn’t ideal for the Rats with Sam Harris heading to Japan and yourself taking over with little time to get your feet under the door before the first game but things settled pretty quickly didn’t they?

“I remember Penrith was our first game and the boys were really nervous – and so was I actually – and we had a really strong win and that sort of put everyone at ease a bit. We went from that to a one point loss at Norths and then another one point loss but then we beat Uni at Uni so I think we started ok, it was the middle part of the season where we fell off the wagon a little bit.

“The guys responded and I’d been around the group a long time and I’d played with some of them for a while so I tried not to drastically change anything straight off. That’s one of the reasons the club went with me because Sammy and I had spent quite a bit of time together and we saw things in a similar way so if there was a change it was minimal I think and that probably helped.”

Haig Sare made the transition from player to coach in 2013 and is looking forward to stamping more of his own mark
on the Warringah club this season
Photo: karenwatsonphotography.com.au

You acquired the unofficial ‘entertainers’ tag through the season because you were involved in so many high scoring try-fests but unfortunately, you weren’t always on the right end of the scoreline. Do I take it that defence has been a big focus in the off season?

“It has, we’ve brought in Michael Lipman from Easts where he was the forwards coach. He is looking after our defence and he brings a wealth of experience from playing here and in England where he captained Bath and he’s obviously a former Rats player as well which is good. Our strength is our unstructured play but then we’d leak points too so it’s definitely something we need to work on. We have spent a bit of time on it and we started to see some of those plans come together in the trial matches.”

Set-piece ball was an area where the Rats weren’t able to generate a consistent platform, mostly through the scrum, has that been addressed in pre-season?

“Massively, that was a huge motivation for our recruitment. We’ve tried to bolster the forward ranks – specifically the tight five – because it was an area where we really paid the price last year. The guys we have on board now have an opportunity, there’s some big boppers in there but they’re not big names and they will be coming up against some packs containing a few famous faces. Again, we’re never a team full of rock stars but if they stand up and they’re given an opportunity to play 1st grade in the Shute Shield competition and they can hold their own at the very least, I think we have the backs there to be pretty competitive.”

Apparently, there’s a 150kg monster on board as well?

“He’s bigger than that actually! His name is Kevin Palavi Fiu or ‘Big Kev’, he came in at 167kgs  but we’ve had him running so he’d be in the 150’s now but we’d like to get him to at least 145kgs. He’s obviously in there for his scrummaging ability but he’s got to be fit and mobile as well.”

With it being your second year, the team being a young side that’s learning and improving with each game and off the back of recruitment that hopefully addresses those areas of concern, do you have high hopes for a big year for the Rats?

“Without a doubt, not just for 1st grade but for the whole club. It’s our 50th year and there’s been a huge push to get the community behind us again. We’ve set ourselves the goal of winning a club championship which is pretty adventurous, particularly as we were quite light on in the lower grades in terms of numbers, but we want to set high standards. It’s a big year for the whole club but obviously first grade flies the flag and I’m hopeful that if our forwards can step up under the tutelage of ‘Lippo’, that some of those tighter games that we lost last year might end up on the right side of the ledger for us this year and that will help us to go well.”

You said you didn’t want to change much when you took over, with a season under your belt, a bit more confidence and a stronger rapport with the players, have you set about imprinting your own style on the side now?

“Yeah, I have. I’ve focused on 1st and 2nd grade to start with and 3rd and 4th grade will follow so we’ve just implemented a few club policies that I expect to be followed throughout all the grades but in particular 1st grade. I’ve got a better gauge on what our strengths and weaknesses are, whereas before it was more of a broad overview. Now I know what the guys are capable of, it’s got to be more particular and specific in terms of the way we want to play and where we want to improve.”

Warringah: Ins & Outs

There’s an earlier start to the competition this year, a couple of extra rounds and a six team finals series – are you happy with the changes?

“I don’t really look at the administrative side of things too much. When they said ‘this is happening’, I just thought ‘Ok, let’s get on board’. The reasons behind the changes – the NRC – are positive for rugby so I’m more than happy to accommodate them.”

As you mentioned, the NRC does now loom on the horizon, what are the pros and cons of this competition for club rugby?

“The cons I think they need to be wary of are that club rugby still needs to remain the premier domestic rugby competition in the country. We’ve got to be wary that the fan base and support doesn’t get taken away and go to the NRC because the Shute Shield becomes another tier below that and they think ‘why should I bother going to support that as well’. The pros are that it offers another level for those guys that aren’t in a professional program to be in one and to bridge that gap between Shute Shield and Super Rugby. It’s great that Fox Sports will be showing games because our media coverage of Super Rugby is just getting smoked by NRL and A-League so any rugby product that we can put in front of Australian audiences has got to be a positive.”

With the Super Rugby final only two weeks before the Shute Shield grand final this year, those clubs with Super Rugby players will have less access to them depending on the relative success of each state. Can we expect a more level playing field across the regular season as a result?

“Let’s hope so! I thought one of the worst advertisements I saw for club rugby last year was that Eastwood finished as Minor Premiers and yet they lose by 50pts – deservedly so – to a very good Sydney Uni side in the Grand Final. I think it’ll be a more level playing field because it takes those real big dominant clubs out of the equation. You play for 12 weeks and you think this is where the competition is at and you think this is what this team is capable of and then you meet them again and they’ve got a whole new team full of professional rugby players so hopefully, the changes will minimise that.”

What trends, if any, do you think we might see appearing in the way the game is played or approached by teams this year in regards to law interpretations – particularly at the breakdown?

“Last year, the big thing was any sort of lifting in the tackle and they normally send out documentation about what they’re policing so we’ve just got to be smart around what they’re looking for. The Rats conceded a lot of penalties last year through over-eagerness and through not being accurate at the breakdown so as a coach, I might even send a message out to say ‘no-one goes for the ball, just go around the corner and fix the defensive line’ because I was sick of conceding penalties. That’s something we definitely need to look at.”

Gun fullback Harry Jones has many admirers.
“He’s an incredible talent,” says Haig Sare
Photo: karenwatsonphotography.com.au

Players to watch out for in 2014?

“He’s not exactly a breakout but I reckon Josh Holmes is one of the best players in the competition and the fact he’s not contracted astounds me. Sam Ward has looked good in the trial games, Boyd Killingworth is a good seven who’s getting better and better and Dave Feltscheer has been a big improver over the last couple of seasons and someone I expect to go very well again this time out.

“We’ve also got big wraps on a young fullback called Harry Jones who was a part of the Waratahs U20s team last year, played for the Australian Schoolboys in the Tri-Nations in 2013 and is in the Olympic Youth team squad. He’s an incredible talent with pace and impressive ball handling, has height and weight on his side and has easily stepped up into grade straight from school.”

What is a successful season for Warringah this year – finals footy must be the ambition but with only a 6 team finals series it’s even harder to reach – so is it about improvement on the ladder or in the club championship?

“I think it’s two-fold. In rugby terms, our first grade side have aspirations to play finals football but for the club in general, it’s our 50th year and we really want to put in a good showing in the club championship through all our grades.

“Away from the rugby itself, we want to create a real buzz within our community base and instigate a membership drive to get more people on board with the Rats. We’ve got the clubhouse back – it was owned by the council for ten years I think – but we’ve got the rights to that and the ground back which is great and means we can now push for a few more social events and the club can start to make a little bit of money again. Success is going to be measured on a few factors but first grade playing finals footy is something that will go a long way in helping our club do well in the club championship.”