Western Sydney coach Sailosi Tagicakibau believes his side is well prepared to avoid sport’s dreaded “second year syndrome” and argued the club’s performance last year would mean little if they couldn’t back it up in 2023. 

On and off the field, the Two Blues were the success story of Sydney club rugby last year but Tagicakibau believes the club still has plenty of improvement in them. 

“I’ve been there as a player before and I know that things are always tougher in year two,” the former London Irish and Wasps back told Rugby News. 

“I think the biggest thing is that the playing group now have trust in the coaching group. They understand why we want to train and play in a certain way and they’ve bought right into it. 

“To be honest, I think this year is more important than last year. 

“Sure, last year was big considering there had been talk of the Two Blues being kicked out of the competition. 

“But we’ve overcome that and now we need to show that there is stability at the club and that we can be a real consistent force in the Shute Shield right across the grades.”

Tagicakibau had his troops back on the training park in early November last year under the watchful eye of former Randwick strength and conditioning coach Mike Davis. 

“He’s a big, intimidating man Mike, and the boys don’t muck around with him,” the coach said. 

“He’s added an extra level of intensity to our training and has pushed the boys really hard. 

“As a group, we know what it takes to compete and win in this competition, but now we want to take the next step and do it more consistently. 

“With the finals changing back to six teams from eight, that makes our job that little bit tougher and we’ve spent the summer making sure we’re up for that challenge.”

Tagicakibau said his side is a long way ahead of where they were at this point last season, when the Two Blues welcomed back many local juniors who had been playing at other clubs around Sydney. 

He said that continuity had made the coaching groups job easier this preseason but added the group still had a long way to go. 

“We’ve added a few players in some key positions where we think we were lacking a little last year. 

“We’ve also recruited to add depth to make sure we can last the whole season. 

“You need a lot more than 23 good players to be competitive in this competition and I think that’s what makes the Shute Shield so special and also so competitive.”

The Two Blues and West Harbour will play 40 minutes each against the Waratahs this Saturday at the new Concord Oval in the Tahs’ final tune up before their opening round Super Rugby clash against the Brumbies at Allianz Stadium on Friday, February 24. 

“The Tahs are in a bit of a similar boat to us actually with a new coaching group and a lot of improvement last season,” Tagicakibau said. 

“They’ve got the core of that group back again and they’ll obviously be looking to build on what they started.

“They’ll be a lot stronger than they were when we faced them last year, but at the same time, so will we. I think it’s just a great exhibition for the game in western Sydney, particularly playing at another great new facility in the west at Concord.”

The coach said a number of his players will be looking to make a big impression on the Waratahs coach staff. 

“Kaynan Siteine-Tua was our player of the year in 2022 and is already on the radar of the Waratahs. I think he’ll have another big year and he’s got a great opportunity to show his quality on Saturday. 

“Tonga Tangitau at tighthead has also had a great offseason. He’s only young and he’s worked really hard on all the things we spoke about in our review, which is great to see.”

“In the backs, Faiva Faiva is a young, quality outside centre. Reece Suesue struggled with injury last year but we seemed to win every game he played in. He’s just one of those players. 

“We’ve also picked up Rahboni Warren-Vosayaco. He’s got a point to prove after not being re-signed by the Tahs. 

“DC knows his value but I think he’s got a great opportunity this weekend to plead his case to be considered throughout the season if needed.”

The Waratahs face West Harbour, then the Two Blues from 3pm at Concord Oval this Saturday.