Shute Shield: Rugby 7s stars swap Olympics for local rugby
They’re meant to be in Tokyo, getting ready to play for Olympic gold. But instead, it will be the Shute Shield that will get to watch a handful of Aussie Olympians this weekend.
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Australian rugby 7s stars Henry Hutchinson and Josh Coward should be in Tokyo this weekend, getting ready to play for Olympic gold.
Instead, they’ll be hitting the field for Randwick and West Harbour in Sydney’s premier rugby competition the Shute Shield.
With the World Sevens Series cancelled due to COVID-19, eleven Aussie 7s have infiltrated clubland.
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Hutchinson said he is happy to be back playing 15s and his old club Randwick.
“Playing Shute Shield from a football standard wise, it’s really good footy and we’re still very much tested as players and we can grow and develop our game,” Hutchinson said.
“First session back was a Tuesday and it was contact day, it was 15 on 15, full noise in the rain for about an hour and a half, a lot more bodies flying around, a few bumps and bruises,
“We want to show the 15s boys that we can jump into both interchangeably.”
Hutchinson, Lachie Miller, Maurice Longbottom, and Dylan Pietsch have all joined the Galloping Greens.
Easts landed Will Maddocks and Joe Pincus.
Trae “Quadzilla” Williams will run out for Southern Districts.
And Coward and Rod Davies will play for West Harbour.
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Hutchinson said that transitioning between formats and finding positions will be challenging – especially for players like Longbottom who have little experience playing 15s.
But the 23-year-old is adamant that the club rugby tribalism will help the Aussie 7s players get through the bitter disappointment of Tokyo2020 being postponed due to the pandemic.
“No doubt it’s been tough on the group, to put all your energy, focus and goals leading to Tokyo … a 12 month build up, for that to be taken away and thrown into a world of uncertainty, it’s frustrating and stressful,
“But the tribalism, club culture, there’s real belief and community in those groups, you really get adopted by that community,
It also offers us an opportunity to play in front of our family, we only have one tournament a year in Australia.”
Coward expects to rotate between five-eighth and fullback at West Harbour.
He and teammate Davis both hope to bring the club into a top four finish this season.
“The club is very good, there’s a lot of very good footy players down there, but they’re missing that final touch to get onto that next top four level at the moment,” Coward said.
“Hopefully me and Rocket (Davis) can go there, take what we’ve learnt, especially Rocket, he’s played 15s all over the world, has a Wallabies cap, over 60 caps in super rugby, he’ll bring a lot of knowledge to our team.”
AUSSIE 7S STARS PLAYING SHUTE SHIELD:
Randwick: Lachie Miller, Maurice Longbottom, Henry Hutchison and Dylan Pietsch
West Harbour: Rod Davies and Josh Coward
Southern Districts: Trae Williams
Western Sydney: Dietrich Roache and Jordan Williams (Dev Players)
Eastern Suburbs: Will Maddocks and Joe Pincus
Aussie 7s stars playing Super Rugby AU:
Rebels: Lachie Anderson and Lewis Holland
Tahs: Nick Malouf
Force: Tim Anstee
ROUND 1 – SHUTE SHIELD DRAW
Warringah v Sydney University at Rat Park
Gordon v Eastern Suburbs at Chatswood Oval
Southern Districts Eastwood at Forshaw Park
West Harbour v Northern Suburbs at Drummoyne Oval
Manly v Western Sydney at Manly Oval
Randwick v Newcastle at Coogee Oval
JULIAN LINDEN’S CLUB BY CLUB GUIDE
SYDNEY UNIVERSITY
Captain: Rohan O’Regan
Coaches: Joe Horn-Smith and Michael Hodge
Last premiership: 2019
2019: Premiers
2020 breakdown: New coaches, a new captain, but expect more of the same from the defending champions. The Students have got so much depth that they could well have Waratahs in their second grade side when everyone is back for the finals so the challenge for other teams is to try and stop them.
WARRINGAH
Captain: Sam Ward
Coach: Mike Ruthven
Last premiership: 2017
2019: Runners-up
2020 breakdown: The Rats have played in the last three grand finals but have lost inspirational skipper Hamish Angus to retirement and some key players to Super Rugby. Ruthven takes over as head coach and has called in his old mate Phil Waugh to lend a hand while Rory O’Connor returns to ensure Warringah will be among the main contenders again.
EASTWOOD:
Captain: Pat Sio
Coach: Ben Batger
Last premiership: 2015
2019: Semi-finalists
2020 breakdown: Have undergone a major clean-out after finishing the regular season in second spot last year then missing out on the grand final. The average age of the current squad is seven years younger than 12 months ago. The Woodies have picked up former NRL star Tim Simona and welcomed back former Fijian rugby league international Fabian Goodall.
NORTHERN SUBURBS
Captains: Nick Palmer and Declan Carroll
Coach: Earl Va’a
Last premiership: 2016
2019: Semi-finalists
2020 breakdown: Former Samoan dual international and two-time World Cup player Va’a has taken over the coaching reins for the Shoreman, who are rebuilding after the bulk of the 2016 grand final winning team have moved on. Halfback Max Burey joins the club from Wests Tigers while fly half Angus Sinclair returns from Japan and German Haeffeli, Ryan Lomas, Dweald Dekker, Isaac Cavu and Vyron Smith have been added to beef up the front row stocks.
EASTERN SUBURBS
Captain: Jack Grant
Coach: Pauli Taumoepeau
Last premiership: 1969
2019: Quarter-finalists
2020 breakdown. Have lost a stack of experienced players since last year, including their previous captain, so last year’s leading tryscorer Jack Grant takes over skipper. Among the big-name recruits for this season are Sunwolves outside back Jordan Jackson-Hope.
MANLY
Captain: Jimmy Ohmsen
Coach: Matt McGoldrick
Last premiership: 1997
2019: Quarter-finalists
2020 breakdown: One of the most consistent clubs in the competition but without the silverware to show for it. Club stalwart McGoldrick is in his first season as head coach and has identified defence as the key area the Marlins need to tidy up. Lost a few overseas players because of COVID-19 but welcome back skipper Ohmsen as well as Sam Lane, Denis Pili-Gaitau, Kotoni Ale and American World Cup hooker James Hilterbrand.
GORDON
Captain: Jordan Goddard
Coach: Darren Coleman
Last premiership: 1998
2019: 7th
2020 breakdown: A team on the way up. The Highlanders missed the semis by one spot last year after finishing second last the previous year. Coleman, who is heading to Los Angeles next season, has picked up Harrison Goddard and Rodney Iona and will get Karmichael Hunt, Joey Walton, Jack Dempsey and the three Abel brothers back in the second half of the season when it matters.
RANDWICK
Captain: Nathan Den Hoedt
Coach: Ben McCormack
Last premiership: 2004
2019: 8th
2020 breakdown: The Galloping Greens have had a lean time of late but are looming as one of the big improvers this season. Randwick have picked up four superstar Australian 7s players – Henry Hutchison, Maurice Longbottom, Lachlan Miller and Dylan Pietsch – after the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and are vowing to reinstate the exciting brand of running rugby the club is renowned for.
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
Captain: Marcus Carbone
Coaches: Todd Louden
Last premiership: 1957 (as St. George)
2019: 9th
2020 breakdown: Grand finalists twice at the start of the decade, the Rebels pulled off a major coup when they signed the highly experienced Louden as head coach to overhaul the club. Queenslander Liam Moseley joins the Rebels after being on development squads for the Reds, Brisbane Broncos and Brisbane Lions while Jed Holloway and Matt Gibbon will return from Super Rugby later on.
WEST HARBOUR
Captain: Dion Spice
Coach: Mark Gudmunson
Last premiership: 1929 (as Western Suburbs)
2019: 10th
2020 breakdown: Another tipped improver. The Pirates had to rebuild from scratch last year but have retained most of their squad and picked up another batch of quality players including former Force lock Sam Wykes and Australia’s fastest player, 7s star Rod “Rocket” Davies.
WESTERN SYDNEY
Captains: Riley Jacobsen and Lafi Pongi
Coaches: Joel Rivers
Last premiership: 1986 (as Parramatta)
2019: 11th
2020 breakdown: The Two Blues have snared the prized signature of former Wallaby hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau for the entire season after he retired from representative rugby last year and has recently returned home from England. Looking to move up the table this season, the Blues are hoping for a big year to launch the reopening of their new facility at Granville Park in 2021.
PENRITH
Captain: Delahoya Manu
Coach: John Muggleton
Premierships: 0
2019: Did not play Shute Shield
2020 breakdown: Kicked out of the competition two years ago, the Emus are back with a point to prove. Starting from ground zero this season, former Wallabies assistant coach Muggleton has taken charge after completing a three year stint in Japan. Registration numbers are soaring and local sponsors are on board but it’s wins that will matter most.
NEWCASTLE
Captain: Chris Ale
Coach: Scott Coleman
Premierships: 0
2019: Did not play Shute Shield
2020 breakdown: Returning to the competition for the first time since 1999, the Wildfires are under no illusions about the enormous challenge they face. Coach ‘Bubba’ Coleman has lured former Tongan test halfback Mahe Fangupo to add some experience on the field and Wallabies legend David Campese to help as a consultant off the field.