By MARK CASHMAN

Tim Anstee’s rugby pathway to the Shute Shield hasn’t been what you would call traditional but he’s loving life in the Eastwood pack and the immediate feedback you get from playing from Saturday to Saturday.

The 23-year-old Anstee has spent the past four years in the national sevens squad under first Andy Friend and then Tim Walsh, representing his country on the HSBC World Sevens Series and clocking up thousands of frequent flyer points.

He should have been working his way back from the Tokyo Olympics (his first) as I write this but Covid-19 has opened up a number of options for the 194cm, 103kg back-rower and lock.

Randwick picked up the core of the sevens squad and a number are making a very credible transition with the likes of Dylan Pietsch, Simon Kennewell and Maurice Longbottom all contributing to the Wicks’ early season surge.

Anstee was brought along slowly by Woods coach Ben Batger in his first few weeks of the Shute Shield season but has been a regular starter at lock for much of the past month.

“I was blowing pretty hard in those first few games when you discover that they go longer than 14 minutes,” Anstee said.

“The cramps in the calves kicked in a bit at the back end of games too, but I must admit that it has been great to play XVs again. 

“I’ve really enjoyed the environment and the guys at Eastwood, some of whom were around when I had some time in the colts while I was at school.

“The whole sevens program is a bit up in the air at the moment and we will see how all that pans out but at the moment I am open to both forms of the game.”

Anstee’s rugby journey took a somewhat unusual turn when he attended one of Rugby Australia’s Sevens Talent ID camps as a 17-year-old in Year 11 a tick over six years ago.

He was attending William Clark College in Kellyville in Sydney’s north west and was identified as a talent of some promise at the tryout.

That led to selection in the Youth Commonwealth Games squad along with current sevens regulars Lachie Anderson and Simon Kennewell, and from there things really took off.

He was signed to the wider senior squad, debuted at the Dubai Sevens at the back end of 2016, and didn’t miss a tournament for much of the next two years.

Anstee played his junior footy at the Dural club and represented Eastwood at the state championships a number of times through his teenage years.

“I’ve been lucky to do what I have been able to do,” Anstee said.

“The initial talent ID camp just put us through a yo-yo test, sprints and some footy drills and it just sort of went from one thing to the next.

“William Clark didn’t really play in any sort of organised competition so we just picked up games against schools in and around the area on a Tuesday or a Wednesday afternoon.”

Anstee says the “eyes up and first three steps” attitude that he has honed in sevens has helped him transition well to the Shute Shield.

He has scored five tries so far this season, including a hat trick against the Two Blues at Lidcombe Oval, and has been a handful for a number of club defences when he sneaks a clean break close to the breakdown.

“Sevens teaches you a number of things and it’s a game where you have got to have your basics right or you will get exposed,” he said.

“You’ve got to be able to make your one-on-one tackles, beat a man with the ball in hand and have an eye to where the space is on the field. It’s helped that is for sure. 

“Sevens also underlines the importance of having a big engine for those repeat efforts and that has helped as I have made my way with the Woods.

“I suppose I see myself as a blindside breakaway or a No.8 but we’ve got those areas pretty well covered at the Woods.

“At lock I do all the set piece stuff but probably stand a bit wider in attack which suits me fine.”

Coach Batger reckons Anstee is one right out of the box.

“In recent times I’ve seen sevens players struggle to adapt to XVs but he has transitioned seamlessly and been one of our best players each week,” Batger said.

“He is a dynamic ball runner and works really hard in ‘D’. Off the field he has been great – always putting the team first and popular with the boys.”

Anstee is on board with his coach when it comes to the subject of the Woods’ defence over the past three weeks.

They have leaked 118 points in the past three games and Batger called on his side to do better earlier this week.

“That’s one part of our game that we need to get in order if we are to do well at the end of the season,” Anstee said.

“There’s enough points in us but when the big games at the end of season come around your defence needs to be in the right sort of order.

“Defence is not a skills based part of the game, it’s an attitude that you need to have and then front up and get it done.”

That is sure to be tested on Saturday against a resurgent Manly side.

IMAGE: SERGE GONZALEZ / EASTWOOD RUGBY