The 2024 GPS first XV season begins on Saturday and Rugby News has spoken to the coaches to get the inside word ahead of round one.

Kings claimed an undefeated premiership in 2023 but most expect this year’s 10-round competition to be far closer than last season.

Kings

Kings went undefeated last year to claim the school’s third GPS first XV premiership in five competitions. 

But just one player from last year’s group returns in 2024 and coach Hugh Perrett is hoping a new crop of talented youngsters can step up and compete when the season begins on Saturday. 

2023: Premiers (10 wins, 0 losses)

Coaches: Hugh Perrett & James Hilgindorf

Fixtures: Scots (A), Shore (A), Joeys (H), Riverview (A), Newington (H), Scots (H), Shore (H), Joeys (A), Riverview (H), Newington (A)

Recent trial form: Kings 38-24 Waverley; Kings 19-19 Newington

Overview with Hugh Perrett: 

“It was an extremely talented side last year but they had to deal with a fair bit of pressure,” Perrett told Rugby News. 

“They’d been successful through the age groups and there were high expectations on them so to go through and win undefeated, it was a great achievement and one they should be extremely proud of.

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Riverview

Riverview won seven of 10 matches in 2023 but that still wasn’t enough to challenge an undefeated Kings outfit for the first XV premiership.

A handful of players from last year’s squad are back for another crack this season though and coach Toby L’Estrange is hoping those returners and some talented youngsters can build cohesion and challenge for the school’s first title since 2011.

2023: 2nd (7 wins, 3 losses)

Coach: Toby L’Estrange

Fixtures: Shore (H), Newington (H), Scots (A), Kings (H), Joeys (A), Shore (A), Newington (A), Scots (H), Kings (A), Joeys (H)

Recent trial form: Riverview 14-13 Barker; Waverley 12-5 Riverview

Overview with Toby L’Estrange:

“The squad is coming along nicely. A number of players from last year’s group graduated so we’ve got a lot of new faces,” L’Estrange told Rugby News.

“With a fresh group, it always takes a bit of time to get everyone up to speed with how we want to play and build cohesion on and off the field.

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Scots

2023: 3rd (4 wins, 4 losses, 2 draws)

Coach: Tim Andersen

Fixtures: Kings (H), Joeys (A), Riverview (H), Newington (A), Shore (H), Kings (A), Joeys (H), Riverview (A), Newington (H), Shore (A)

Recent trial form: Newington 36-7 Scots; Scots 24-12 Stannies

Joeys

Joeys couldn’t catch a break in 2023, drawing their opening two matches, then falling just short in three tight matches that followed.

But first XV coach Greg Thompson said he was proud of his side’s resilience last year which helped them win three of their final five matches. Four players will return from last season when Joeys travel to play Newington in round one on Saturday May 18.

2023: 4th (3 wins, 5 losses, 1 draw)

Coach: Greg Thompson

Fixtures: Newington (A), Scots (H), Kings (A), Shore (H), Riverview (H),  Newington (H), Scots (A), Kings (H), Shore (A), Riverview (A).

Recent trial form: Joeys 33-23 Knox; St Augustine’s 31-26 Joeys

Overview with Greg Thompson:

“We ended up with a week longer than usual to prepare this year because Easter and the Head of the River was early, so that has helped. I think we’re in a good spot,” Thompson told Rugby News. 

“We’ve adjusted the way we’ve played this year compared to previous seasons. In 2018, we looked at how rugby was being played in New Zealand and created the system we played with on the back of what we saw over there.

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Shore

A young Shore first XV side took a massive step forward last season but struggled at times to close out tight matches.

A number of players from last year’s side are back for a second crack this season and coach Angus Sinclair is confident his side will be right in the mix again.

2023: 5th (2 wins, 7 losses, 1 draw)

Coach: Angus Sinclair

Fixtures: Riverview (A), Kings (H), Newington (H), Joeys (A), Scots (H), Riverview (H), Kings (A), Newington (A), Joeys (H), Scots (A).

Recent trial form: Shore 40-17 Oakhill; Shore 24-14 Knox

Overview with Angus Sinclair: 

“We’re a long way ahead of where we were at this point last year,” Sinclair, a Shute Shield winning flyhalf at Northern Suburbs, told Rugby News.

“We only played three trial games last year and we were underprepared heading in to round one as a result.

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Newington

Newington struggled in tight games throughout 2023, but sent a warning to the rest of the competition with an impressive win over Scots and a draw with Kings in recent trials.

Coach Tim Rapp has altered his side’s game plan for the upcoming season and seems confident his side will be in the hunt towards the backend of a tight competition.

2023: 6th (2 wins, 8 losses)

Coach: Tim Rapp

Fixtures: Joeys (H), Riverview (A), Shore (A), Scots (H), Kings (A), Joeys (A), Riverview (H), Shore (H), Scots (A), Kings (H).

Recent trial form: Newington 36-7 Scots; Newington 19-19 Kings

Overview with Tim Rapp: 

“We were pleasantly surprised with our win over Scots. From what I’ve heard on the grape vine, Scots are expected to be the team to beat this year. They’ve got a lot of quality players and a lot of guys that played representative rugby last season,” Rapp said. 

“To beat them 36-7, we were really happy with that and pleased to play with so much consistency this early on in the season. 

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