Beastie noise: Why rise of Sydney’s strongest rugby club has caused a loud stir

During the decades of peak dominance by Sydney University in the Shute Shield, and in the lower grades of Sydney club rugby, there was a unifying mantra used by those not within cooee of a sandstone lecture hall: “Anyone but Uni”.

Weakened by global raiders and the growth of rival clubs, the Students’ stranglehold on the Shute Shield has all but disappeared in the last five years. But the mantra is still around – it has just shifted postcodes.

This year, the Uni-style dominance has been found across town at Woollahra Oval, and it has stirred up such strong emotion and even vitriol that the refrain these days is now: “Anyone but Easts”.

The Eastern Suburbs Rugby club, to be exact. Or colloquially, the “Beasties”.

This year, after a relatively quiet period of construction, Easts have risen dramatically to take the mantle of Sydney’s strongest rugby club. Easts won minor premierships in the Shute Shield and the three other men’s grade competitions, and they won the minor premiership in two of the three colts competitions as well.

In a combined 118 men’s competition games, Easts only lost 17 of them. It was more than enough to give them their first club championship crown since a shared title in 1971, and as the Shute Shield and SRU enters the semi-finals this weekend, every grade is still alive and hunting premierships.

The Easts first grade side after beating Newcastle at Allianz Stadium in July.Credit: Karen Watson/SPA/Easts

The Easts first-grade team, coached by former Waratah Ben Batger and stocked with Super Rugby stars, will face Warringah at North Sydney Oval on Saturday as they pursue their first Shute Shield title in 55 years. The club last won the 102-year-old trophy way back in 1969, with a side whose photo has been aired plenty in recent times due to presence of Chris Dawson, of Teacher’s Pet infamy. The previous title before that was 1947.

Normally, many would cheer for a foundation club to break a long-standing drought. But after a year of off-field drama, it’s fair to say the Rats will have the neutrals behind them.

Easts have this year found themselves the target of scrutiny – from officials and rivals alike – as controversy dogged the club’s successful season. In April, Easts were investigated for racial abuse of West Harbour players by fans at a pre-season trial at Woollahra Oval, and though an independent panel determined the abuse had occurred, there was insufficient evidence to prove it came from Easts fans.

Easts were investigated again recently after a proven breach of the player points system – the talent equalisation device that stops clubs from hoarding an unfair number of stars. The club explained the error and were initially let off by the SRU, but that decision prompted outrage from rival clubs and a subsequent investigation stripped Easts of five points.

It wasn’t enough to stop them winning the minor premiership, though, and it also didn’t stop the anti-Easts barbs flying on social media, and from rival clubs.

The tricolours have stars all over the field, and have fielded nine Super Rugby players this year, including Wallabies wing Darby Lancaster, Waratahs halves Teddy Wilson and Jack Bowen, and NSW forwards Charlie Gamble, Fergus-Lee Warner and Miles Amatosero.

Privately, many clubs question the ability of Easts to have not only stayed points compliant, but also under the SRU salary cap of $227,000.

“I have been surprised by the extent of [the criticism]. But I called up my mates at Uni and they just laughed at me and said, ‘Harden up, we have been copping this for 20 years’,” Easts president Dave Allen said.

“We got docked five points and that’s fine. That’s the way they saw it in the end. We didn’t appeal, we got on with it. But there still seems to be a lot of animosity.”

The club’s resurgence began in 2014, when they were in dire straits financially. Benefactors helped stave off the sale of Easts’ clubhouse, something other clubs have had to do since Rugby Australia turned off the funding tap, and Sydney businessman John Murray, who was then president, began the turnaround by redeveloping the clubhouse.

“2014 was probably the nadir for the club. When people said, ‘How are you going to turn Easts around?’ I said, ‘Well I am going to start with the food’,” Murray said. “People thought that was crazy but the board decided coming down to Easts should be a fabulous experience for everybody.”

The 1969 Eastern Suburbs team, captained by Peter Crittle and also featuring Paul and Chris Dawson.Credit: Fairfax Media

The Easts clubhouse is now a thriving function centre, bar and restaurant, and along with a strong Easts foundation, it pumps money into the Easts rugby program. In 2020, Easts hired former Sydney Sixers general manager Dom Remond as chief executive, and his commercial nous further bolstered the club revenues.

With a strong financial base, the club sought to climb and invested heavily in coaching and facilities. And Allen, who succeeded Murray as president in 2021, said he had no qualms in copying the best: Sydney Uni.

“We used to call Uni the ‘Death Star’ but I always thought how everyone had that, almost hate, towards Uni pretty childish,” Allen said. “Surely we should just be looking at what they’re doing and seeing what we can learn from them. But sometimes in Australian rugby it can be a bit like that. It is easier to tear someone down than learn.”

Waratahs five-eighth Jack Bowen clearing the ball for Easts.Credit: Karen Watson

Allen sat with Sydney Uni boss David Mortimer, who generously shared the blue-and-gold playbook. Like Uni, the two focus points for Easts became strengthening the colts program, and building up a mentoring group that could attract players to the rugby club, and then help them succeed away from rugby.

“They have “Friends of Sydney Uni” and we basically just did a copy and paste of that,” Allens said. “Ours is called Future Leaders, and we have 30 kids – guys and girls – across all the different teams that really wanted to excel in life. A lot of them are from out of town, country kids, and getting them the right network connections … we recognise 95 per cent of the kids, despite best intentions, are never going to be professional rugby players.”

Easts employed Pauli Taumoepeau (who went onto become Waratahs forwards coach) to revitalise the colts program, and the talent began to flow through to grade.

Easts began to win lower grade competitions but Shute Shield success eluded them, and after finishing 10th last year, Batger was recruited from Eastwood. He brought experienced assistants Brian “Billy” Melrose and Jed Gillespie with him, along with a handful of players and an uncompromising attitude about winning silverware.

“We have won pretty much every premiership other than first grade in the last three years,” Remond said. “So we have been building towards it. But getting a coach in here who knows how to be competitive and win Shute Shield has been a major difference.”

Batger’s pursuit of a winning edge clearly ruffled feathers among Shute Shield rivals. At the end of season awards, he was not one of three nominees for coach of the year – a prize voted on by the 12 Shute Shield coaches.

Eastern Suburbs chief executive Dom Remond.Credit: Wolter Peeters

The award was shared by Stephen Hoiles - the coach of 2023 premiers Randwick - and Gordon’s Harry Felihy [Norths’ Zak Beer was the third nominee]. Hoiles and Felihy were deservedly recognised for strong seasons, but Easts were bemused Batger didn’t get a look-in.

“You’d think going 10th to first he’d be in the mix, but he didn’t even get nominated. It’s a bit laughable,” Allen said.

Asked if they are salary cap compliant, Allen said “absolutely and unequivocally” and added the club’s strength – and proximity to Bondi Beach – often sees overseas players “literally rock up and want to join the club” for a stint.

Remond says of the whispering campaign against Easts’ salary cap and points tallies: “It’s very petty. As [NSW State of Origin coach] Madge Maguire said, “glass houses”. That’s all I am going to say. We are squeaky clean. You have to be.

“But I will say there needs to be a whole lot more robustness, as we have seen with the points system, but also with salary cap auditing in the future.”

It may have taken time to tot up all the minor premierships but there is no chicken counting just yet. Allen is acutely aware of the pain of an unfulfilled season, after playing in the Easts first-grade side in 2000 that was undefeated but got bundled out in the finals - by Uni.

“There is definitely a lot of pride about the club’s efforts this year,” Allen said.

“But let’s be honest, mate, no-one remembers minor premiers. There’s work to do.”

Watch the Shute Shield Semi Final doubleheader this Saturday with Randwick v Northern Suburbs (12:30pm AEST) and Eastern Suburbs v Warringah (3pm AEST) ad-free, live and on demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.