Easts bracing for fight to stay alive in John I Dent Cup

Easts have been granted an exemption to field just two men's teams - first grade and colts - in the premier division this year if the John I Dent Cup season is restarted in the coming months. President Huia Edmonds admitted his concerns about the club's long-term viability, thanking ACT rugby staff for giving Easts a lifeline to play this year despite dwindling player numbers.

The former ACT Brumbies and Wallabies hooker has been working since October to try to keep Easts afloat, but was forced to withdraw from the reserve-grade competition before the coronavirus shutdown. Most clubs field teams in the John I Dent Cup, reserve grade, colts and two more lower-grade sides in the first division competition.

With hope growing local sports will be cleared to play again as early as next month, rumours started swirling about Easts being unable to play in any grades this year.

Edmonds had approached ADFA and Duntroon about merging to form a strong club, but the idea did not progress and Easts were left with a group of about 45 players during pre-season training.

Edmonds is confident they have the depth to cover two grades and is adamant the Canberra premier division needs Easts to ensure a strong and sustainable competition.

"It would be a huge plus if we could keep this club in the top-tier rugby competition in Canberra," Edmonds said.

"They're the oldest club in Canberra. The last thing we want to do is to lose a club like Easts because of dropping numbers.

"I'm just here to help this club as much as possible to keep the sport go as much as possible. This sport has given so much to me and all I want to do is to help and give back. I don't think we can survive [as a competition] if we keep losing clubs like Easts in Canberra."

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Easts boast the likes of George Gregan, Matt Giteau and Guy Shepherdson as old boys and had secured seven Brumbies players as their professional allocation this year.

Easts were one of four foundation teams in the inaugural John I Dent Cup in 1938. The other foundation teams - University, Norths and RMC - still exist, but either as a merged premier division club or in the lower divisions. Easts haven't won a premiership since 1947, but almost ended their drought with a dream run to the grand final in 2008.

Since then they've struggled to be competitive, struggling with constant player turnover and conceding some of the biggest scorelines in the competition's history.

Coach Tim Cornforth has tried to resurrect the club in the past two seasons, guiding them to their first win in three years when they snapped a 1106-day losing streak in 2018. It was the glimmer of hope Easts needed to keep their heads above water, but financial pressure and the player strain has forecast uncertain times ahead.

Wallabies centurion Giteau has agreed to help out in whatever way possible, coming on board as a specialist coach to help nurture players and potentially attract recruits.

"He's been great. He said he'd help us when needed and you could really see the guys lift when he came to pre-season to train with us," Edmonds said.

ACT Rugby Union officials have been in constant contact with clubs about a potential competition start date if coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

The National Cabinet will meet again this week to discuss potential changes to social distancing, which could pave the way for sports to return to the training field.

"There is a worry in the back of mind whether we can survive," Edmonds said. "The club has struggled over the years. We're restructuring every year at the moment.

"ACT rugby has been really good to us in trying to keep us in the John I Dent Cup. If you ask me, Tim is the glue to keep the team together. He's been fantastic ... hopefully we can move forward."