University of Queensland will this weekend contest the Australian Club Championship in Sydney, but before they head South to face Shute Shield champs Sydney Uni, let’s take a look at how the Red Heavies are shaping up heading into 2020.
2019 WRAP
They say you never write off a champion, and the University of Queensland proved that tenfold in 2019.Languishing in seventh spot with three wins at the mid-way point of the season, the Students launched an incredible late season charge to stun the rest of the competition and claim their second Hospital Cup title in the past three years.
The Heavies routed Easts 51-12 in the minor semi-final, before overcoming Jeeps in the preliminary final to book their ticket to the big dance against historical rivals Brothers.
As we’ve come to expect from Uni, their experienced nucleus stood up when it mattered, with the likes of Harry Hockings, James Dalgleish, Harry Hockings, Sam Wallis and Pat Morrey combining to cap an incredible season with a Grand Final win at Ballymore.
They’ll head into the 2020 season missing a number of those stalwarts, although player turnover is no new phenomenon for the club.
Influential captain and flyhalf Dalgleish is heading overseas for a playing opportunity in Scotland, while Korczyk has also signed on to play in the United Kingdom this season.
Still on board however is super coach Mick Heenan, whose record over the past decade speaks for itself.
Heenan will again look towards his proven stars this season, while a number of youngsters have also impressed during pre-season training at St Lucia.
The youthful brigade of Ben Paxton-Hall, Fergus Lillicrap, Kye Oates and Brad Twidale (who will step into the flyhalf jersey in place of Dalgleish) will all be key as they continue their Premier Rugby apprentice, with a number of players are also pushing for spots from the Uni Colts program.
After a full pre-season with the Melbourne Rebels, premiership winner Pat Morrey will be back in the side to combine in the backrow with Sam Wallis and Shute Shield and National Rugby Championship recruit Connor Vest.
SJ Tamala, who finished 2020 as one of Premier Rugby’s form props, will be crucial at scrum time alongside Hamish Richardson who has returned from a stint in New Zealand, as Jordan Lenac also returns to St Lucia to battle Jacobus van Eeden for the starting scrumhalf jersey.
Former Queensland Country winger Josh Birch is also back in the squad, covering the loss of Clifton Setu.
UQ have dominated Queensland Premier Rugby for the past decade, and there’s no sign that they’ll be stopping in 2020.
THE INSIDE WORD
“You can’t do better than win a premiership, so we’re very happy with the way the back half of last season went.
“I think we won nine of our last ten, so it was a pretty special way to finish of the year.
“We’re probably in better shape this time this year than we were last year, so I’d expect we’ll be a bit more competitive in the early rounds.
“There’s always some renewal every year, we’re pretty excited about some of the young talent we’ve got coming through from the Colts last year and some guys straight out of school.
‘There’s always an element of renewal every year at Uni, but it’s something we’ve grown accustomed too and we’re conscious we’ve been successful for a long time and it’s something we want to keep rolling.
“It was a bit of an interrupted pre-season with the rain, but we’re starting to get some field time which has been really good for us and it’s always good to get into games after so long on the training track.”
Mick Heenan, UQ head coach
