Presidents Update Dec 2022
Hello Southern Districts Rugby community.
To many of you this is the rugby “off-season”, but at Southern Districts there has been an incredible amount of work going on behind the scenes. We have a dedicated group of people determined to see Souths return to a more familiar place in the Sydney Premier Rugby competition.
Preparations for the 2023 season have been underway since half-way through 2022 including:
A full rugby program review
One-on-one senior player interviews
Re-signing of almost every current player
Position-targeted player recruitment
Finalising senior coaching appointments
Re-engaging major sponsors
Planning the 2023 in-season events calendar
Starting a district-wide strategic review, and, as always…. much more
We recently welcomed Jayson Brewer as Head Coach for 2023, and he has certainly hit the ground running! The off-season training block has started with a flourish. We have seen with terrific numbers of Grade and Colts players already putting in to make the coming season a success.
Jayson is proving to be the right man for the times. He is incredibly organised and has already begun shaping a fresh and appropriate game model. One that’s based on the traditional strengths and DNA of the mighty Rebels. Jayson is on his way to becoming a major asset of Souths Rugby for years to come.
We are also delighted that Matt Barr is staying on as Club Coach in 2023 to oversee the rugby program. Matt’s key role is “Keeper of the Club’s DNA”, ensuring that everyone involved - including coaches, managers, support staff, players new & old – understand who we are, and how we play the game.
Jayson and Matt are building a team of genuine Souths people to drive our success into the future, in all coaching, management and support roles. Watch out for specific and exciting announcements as this team is bedded down.
The 2023 Season Draw was recently published, and we are about as excited as possible with home games at Forshaw to bookend the season - Round 1 sees us host grand finalists Gordon, and in Round 18 we welcome Easts in what we are sure will be a cracking Season Wrap Party!
Of course the 2022 season extends well into spring for the Wallabies, who now count our very own Jed Holloway and Matt Gibbon amongst their number. Congratulations Jed and Gibbo for reaching the pinnacle of rugby, and for lighting the path for the hundreds of aspiring girls and boys playing rugby in the Southern Districts region.
Also reaching the highest of honours is another local junior Nathan Lawson, who this month shared in the very special achievement of winning the Hong Kong Sevens with the Australian team. Congratulations Nate, we look forward to seeing you pull on the Souths jersey again very soon !
We also congratulate George Gibson for his 2022 Junior Wallabies achievements, and Jackson Ropata for his selection into the 2023 Junior Wallabies Train-on Squad. We look forward to seeing how both of these young Rebels progress in their remarkable careers at Forshaw and beyond.
Bayley Kuenzle took another massive step in his professional career travelling with Australia A to Japan in October.
Jay Tregonning had a tremendous Rugby World Cup tournament as Head Coach of the Buildcorp Wallaroos. What a fantastic result against fully professional teams.
And of course we are incredibly proud of our two front row war horses Blake Schoupp and Conor Young, who have each secured professional rugby contracts.
Conor has signed for The New England Free Jacks with Major League Rugby in the United States. He has also just achieved an incredible milestone in playing Test Rugby for Canada – congratulations Condor!
Schouppy has recently impressed so much at the Brumbies that they have upgraded his training contract to a full-blown Super Rugby contract for 2023 – and there is no-one more deserving!
Whilst it is sad to lose these two outstanding men for a while, we know that they will represent the Rebels brilliantly on the broader rugby stage, and we wish them well.
All of these young men are fine examples of what this club stands for – hard work coupled with playing the game you love, with your mates, for your community…. Just as our mighty 4th Grade showed in 2022, this is recipe for success. A recipe we are spreading across the entire Souths club and community - starting right now. Thanks to the mighty 4’s for showing the way back.
A season update would not be complete without a special mention to the range of people that stood up, showed up, dug deeper, came back, and generally put the club first in 2022. Players, coaches, support staff, S&Cs, physios, doctors, sponsors, members, board members, volunteers…. Too many to name individually, but a heartfelt thank you on behalf of a grateful club.
We all know that 2022 was a tough year.
We also know that tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
In fact they don’t just “last”, but they flourish. This rugby club has built a reputation for toughness over the decades second to none in the game. And we are determined to restore that view across Sydney rugby in 2023.
Join the Rebellion in 2023.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Brad Devine.
