Second Grade (Colin Caird Shield)
By Ray Hudd (Coach)
Manly Oval is one of those venues that you enjoy playing at. The passionate Marlins crowd can also make it a tough place to play. After 22mins Uni were down 17-0
We managed to keep our composure and got the score line back to 17-17 at half time. After a few strong words at half time we set out to get things back on track. Manly started well straight after the break and were back in for another try 24-17 to Manly. Uni then staged a fightback coming from behind again to score three converted tries and a penalty goal.
Full time score Sydney Uni 41 def Manly 24
Man of the Match for Sydney Uni – Jordan Chapman
Third Grade (Henderson Shield)
By Jack Leary (Coach)
Struggling to get our hands on the ball in the first 15 minutes 3rd grade couldn’t manage to gain any real momentum throughout the game against an experienced Manly pack playing in front of their home crowd. One real positive from the game was our scrum which remained dominant throughout the game. 3rd grade experienced a few tough lessons on the day but will be better for the experience early in the season.
Full time score Manly 36 def Sydney Uni 14
Fourth Grade (Henderson Cup)
By Jack Stanford (Player)
Looking to continue the run of good results, 4th Grade came out of the blocks like men possessed. Josh Schwager asserted his dominance from the kick off and along with Hugh Summerhayes and George Lehmann went about wreaking havoc for the Manly scrum and lineout. With the score line favouring Manly and no time on the clock, the forward pack rose to the occasion and worked over the Manly pack at scrum-time before the ball made its way to Jock Merriman who found Mesake Tagituimua with a wondrous cut out ball and over he went to give University the victory 17-15.
Full time score Sydney Uni 17 def Manly 15
Fifth Grade
By Jack Stanford (Player)
Manly turned on an absolute peach of a day for the dedicated gentleman of 5th Grade to battle it out on the hallowed turf of Manly Oval. Facing some hardened opposition lead up front by 53-test Wallaby Wycliff Palu, the Students stepped up and went into battle with a much larger pack. The front row was excellent and along with the rest of the pack laid the platform for the backs to shine, notably Patrick Muller. Special mention must go to Malachy Mullin for his efforts to cover fullback off the bench with his usual vigour in a 21-19 victory.
Full time score Sydney Uni 21 def Manly 19
First Colts (W. McMahon Memorial Shield)
By Robert Taylor (Colts Head Coach)
The day started out with two very dominant displays by the 3rd and 2nd Colts, who have shaken off their slow start from the previous week to play high tempo University rugby.
The 1st Colts game was a little more frustrating, Manly as they always do, came to win and they throw the kitchen sink at you in the process. Our areas of concern was not finishing the opportunities, we should, I expect that at this time of year, players slightly looking for themselves instead of putting someone else into a better position. The pleasing aspects where the growth in the individual displays and workrate. This is a new group and we are slowly growing together and getting a clear understanding of the way we want to play.
Throughout the whole game we led but Manly just never gave up, scoring all of their three tries in the second half to keep closing in on us.
Player points went to:
- Ed King 3 pts
- Rory Suttor 2 pts
- Peter Fenwicke 1 pts
Ed King took the 3 points with an all-round dominant attacking display. Rory and Peter got through a mountain of work together for the benefit of the team. In behind them were improved performances by Tim Lilomaiava, Ratu Rotuisolia and Jay Spencer.
Full time score Sydney Uni 22 def Manly 21
Second Colts (Shell Trophy)
By Connor Grindal (Player)
Colts 2 had four changes from the team that lost to Easts last week and the boys had worked hard in the week to bounce back and get a win.
The start of the first half was pretty even between the two teams and most of it was played in Manly’s half. Through a dominant set piece, Uni were able to get on the front foot and after building pressure there was space for Ethan Miller to score on the wing. Manly responded soon after a skills error to level the game but in the late first half the Uni kick chase and build up play allowed Uni to score two tries through Angus Chadwick and Sean Hasegawa.
The second half started with another deadlock and Uni worked hard to put Manly away. Uni grinded hard and Sean O’Bryne was able to go over the line through good pick and drive play. Connor Farnell scored soon after through good ball movement, the fitness showed in the last quarter of the game as Uni scored two quick tries through Josh Hardie and Ed Renton.
Overall 2nd Colts had a much improved performance from last week shown through the dominant set piece by the forwards and the good ball movement through the backs earning Uni a win.
Full time score Sydney Uni 47 def Manly 7
Third Colts (Bill Simpson Shield)
By Gabriel Enright (Coach)
After stumbling in the first round to Easts the young students hit an early streak of form to dispose of Manly by 54 point to 5 at St Paul’s College on the weekend.
From the onset the team amassed significant territorial pressure that was rewarded with four first half tries to accrue a lead of 26 to nil at the break.
Manly were able to regroup and in the second half played some decent rugby to score first and get on the board. From here on the quality of the whole squad took the advantage again by building pressure and scoring several tries. The coaches were delighted to make the full 10 player substitutions without a noticeable decline in the quality of play and the conviction of the team to close the game out by 54 points to 5 .
Will Wennerbom returned to the fold and was Best on Ground for the 3 points. Dane Stephens hit his straps with a robust performance up front for the two points while Raymond Taufani played strongly in the back row for the point.
Full time score Sydney Uni 55 def Manly 5