Go back to post #35 on page 2 of this thread for a fairly long post outlining some of the numbers for Colts players at the various clubs.
One of the conclusions of that post was "i
t is going to be hard for a kid (but not impossible) from 2nd XV to break into Colts."
Snouts from SRU have said that 2015 Colts will be 2 "normal" (U20) Colts grades and one U18 colts grade (the old Colts 3rds). If this is the case, things just got a whole lot harder to break into Colts.
Unless you are an Andrew Kellaway or similar, then nearly all of this years Private School Graduates will spend at least one year in Under 20 (Colts) rugby, most will do two years. From 2015 onwards there will only be two teams of SRU Colts available for the Under 19 and Under 20 year old boys. at each club. In (very) simple terms Colts 1 will be Under 20's, Colts 2's will be Under 19's and Colts 3's will be Under 18's.
Just like the old NSW JRU Junior State Championships days where each District had one rep team for each age group at State Champs. Only this time, there will be a fair few country kids and ACT kids trying out for a position in one of the "City" teams.
@Spirit of Cupertino was looking for a system for clubs to recruit players, setting aside some of the more interesting aspects of some of their previous posts. To retain and attract talent (remember that the clubs only have to keep two teams of school leavers on their books from 2015 onwards), the system is money, mostly in the form of contra deals, job assistance, study assistance, scholarships, accommodation and mentoring. This little doozy announcement of intent from Randwick seems to ratchet up the ante.
http://randwickrugby.com.au/news/2014-news/4158-rdrufc-luncheon-28-august
• In 2013 we had 7 scholarships available to our players.
• In 2014 this has expanded to 34 with a view to being 45 – 50 in 2015.
• We support all levels of study - both tertiary and TAFE, trade and skills.
• Residential colleges are a key pillar of our recruitment and retention
In 2013, Sydney Uni beat Wicks Colts 1 (with 7 scholarships) by 100 points in the Finals. In the 2014 Colts 1 Grand Final (with 34 Scholarships) Wicks Colts 1 beat Sydney University. With another 11-16 Scholarships, what will they do in 2015? Is this a sign for Newington 1st XV in 2015 to reverse their 100 point drubbing by Scots?
With only two teams of school leavers to look after (and the possible odd bursary assistance or irregularity for a Y10-Y12 lad to take care of) they should have no problems retaining all the talented former Wicks Juniors as well as recruiting a fair roster of likely lads in from the Bush, and the Private Schools to fill their two Colts Grades with rockstars.
The Player Points Cap may need to be revisited for 2015, because it didn't seem to be all that effective in past years, even after the tweak of 2014.
What is a fair and equitable level of player scholarships at clubs?
In 2014, the Wicks beat all comers to the prime cattle of the Aust Schoolboys 2013, signing up 6 of them. Not one of those 6 had any previous connection with the Myrtle Green of Randwick as a Junior.
It seems, that Sydney Uni with a whole variety of scholarships and arrangements through their elite athletes programme, and other third party deals with residential colleges etc seem to score around 3 or so Aust Schoolboys each year.
Meanwhile most of the other "progressive" clubs have followed suit in some way, with between 5 and 7 "scholarships" seeming to be the norm, with these "scholarships" being about $3000-$5000 value (most in contra). Those clubs manage to recruit between 1 and 3 Aust Schoolboys each.
Can the other clubs (we know Sydney Uni can) compete with attracting and retaining talent, when the Wicks are looking to buy in up to 50 players next year (up to 15 more than this years harvest)?
How many of these lads being targeted will be from the wrong side of Anzac Parade, with no previous history of association with Randwick via the Juniors or the "local" High Schools?
What hope is there for the Mighty Two Blues, and The Emus to compete with this?
2015 will see the 2 Blues lose the majority of the extraordinary Oakhill 2012 graduates as they move up to Grade. One hopes that the momentum generated over the past two years, lead by the Oakhill influence, is maintained.
Subbies Colts is probably looking good for many kids.
