Hills Grammar Fields Gives Eastwood an Edge for Shute Shield
Eastwood Rugby, one of Sydney’s most successful premier rugby clubs, are using training facilities at a Hills school for valuable pre-season training. They have been training at Hills Grammar, Kenthurst, since October last year in preparation for the season which kicks off on April 5.
According to Eastwood Rugby’s GM Robert Frost, they has been making the most of the outstanding facilities at the Hills Grammar as they bid for the blue riband of NSW rugby, the Shute Shield.
The Woods are waiting for their new club to be built at the multi-purpose Fred Caterson Reserve, Castle Hill, with The Hills Shire Council working on the final details.
“Both the club’s Shute Shield (first grade) squad and the Colts (under 20s) are using Hills Grammar’s synthetic fields which enable the squad to train regardless of the weather,” Frost said. “The players were very happy with being able to get in quality sessions regardless of weather conditions.”
Frost said the Shute Shield includes two clubs with synthetic fields so their players are familiar with playing on this surface.
“But being able to regularly train on such a high quality surface could be the edge that coach Dave Telfer is looking for,” Frost said. “The surface at the school is of excellent quality and for the majority of the club’s players is much closer to home, so it’s a win all round.
“We are looking forward to the Sydney Premiership (18 rounds). The Woods have been Premiers six times in the past 25 years so there are high expectations all round.“
The club recently won the highly-prestigious Kiama 7s, so all the omens are looking good for the season, he said.
Meanwhile, Frost is stepping down as GM of the club after 16 years in the high profile job. In a tribute to his outstanding leadership and for steering them through financial woes, Eastwood Rugby said: “Rob has also been instrumental in developing the strategy for what is the necessary move from TG Millner to the North West.
“Rugby Australia, NSW Rugby and our peer Shute Shield Clubs have all recognised this strategy as crucial for the development of the game and have been very supportive of this move. The amount of time and effort Rob has put into developing and executing this strategy cannot be overstated. This strategy will set the club up for a long term successful future.
