Other Reports
Second Grade (Colin Caird Shield)
Second Grade: Eastwood 23 – Sydney University 24.
Third Grade (Henderson Shield)
Third Grade: Sydney University 22 – Manly 12
Fourth Grade (Henderson Cup)
By James Cameron (Coach)
Uni 4th grade won through to the semi-finals of the Henderson Cup with a heart stopping 22-17 win over Randwick.
Uni enjoyed a strong wind at their backs in the first half and used that to good advantage to spend some time in the Randwick half. Uni made a couple of incursions inside the Randwick 5 metre line but could not turn that pressure into a try. A penalty goal to Tom Wilson gave us a 3-0 lead.
The players switched off for a moment after that and allowed Randwick to score to take the lead 7-3. Uni hit back though and after some sustained pressure, Sam Harris regathered a kick from Cameron Mason to score in the corner. Tom Wilson nailed the sideline conversion to give us a 10-7 lead at half time.
Randwick had a wind in the second half but Uni were quicker out of the blocks. A great run down the short side by Stuart Nutt saw Tom Wilson cross for a 15-7 lead. Randwick enjoyed possession and territory after that but Uni’s defence was solid. A strange decision from the referee to show a yellow card saw Uni down to 14 men for 10 minutes; Randwick took the 3 points on offer to close the gap to 15-10. Uni defended resolutely while a man down but eventually Randwick made the most of their advantage and scored to take the lead 17-15.
With just 3 minutes to go our season was on the line. Randwick managed to clear the ball down to Uni’s try line, Uni scrambled back to regain possession, we now needed to go 100m or our season was over.
A couple of strong runs saw us clear of our 22; then Patrick Muller made a great break down his touchline, he passed in field to Netani Qicatabua who beat the fullback. He was in sight of the try line but was pulled down just short. The ball was recycled and shifted to midfield, a loose carry was cleared up by Jack Stanford who straightened up the attack. A quick recycle saw the ball moved wide through the hands to Mesake Tagituimua with a bit of space, he stepped his man and headed for the try line, the cover defence came across, Mesake dived and … Over! Uni snatch it at the death. The full time bell sounded as Tom Wilson added the extras and Uni were through!
Finals games are always tight and Uni showed they were prepared to fight right to the very end get the win. The boys should be proud of the character they showed and their determination to win the game. The game was played at a high tempo and the work rate from all the players was tremendous. We face another tough challenge this week against Norths but we will be buoyed by the feeling that comes from a win like this. One down, 2 to go.
Fourth Grade: Sydney University 22 – Randwick 17
First Colts (W. McMahon Memorial Shield)
By Rob Taylor (Coach)
It was a good day for all three Colts teams at Chatswood Oval. Each team deserved their wins through solid defence, unselfish play and high energy for the eighty minutes.
In the 1st Colts game, the team was lucky to get on the scoreboard early from a bad Eastwood pass that was intercepted from there on, we were able to score consistently through the game. Eastwood tried an aggressive rush defence but our guys were able to find ways through it or around it, something that we have become very comfortable in managing. Set piece provided high quality ball and we were able to punch short or wide to find the space.
We now face a very hurt Randwick team were upset by 5th placed Easts on Sunday at Foreshore. We are expecting a very vocal crowd to turn up for both teams and should be some very good rugby played.
First Colts: Sydney University 57 – Eastwood 15
Second Colts (Shell Trophy)
Second Colts: Sydney University 48-17
Third Colts (Bill Simpson Shield)
By Gabriel Enright
A commanding 36 to 7 victory over Southern Districts in the first week of the final series was a positive step toward a premiership for the young Students. A blistering start had the scoreline out to 29 to zip within the first stanza of play.
The second half saw Southern Districts rally and even the flow of the match with both sides scoring 7 points a’piece. But the damage had been done and the bench was emptied so the whole cub pride could feast from the carcass.
With two tries and a rock solid performance at fullback Connor Farnell steered the victory from the back. Will Wennerbom returned to the team and once again found a way to the line for two points while all the drama on the day was provided by Sydney Malifa who arrived 3 minutes before kickoff and had a whale of a game for the point.
“It’s CHATSwood not EASTwood, Sydney!” – “Sorry Coach!”
Third Colts: Sydney University 36 – Southern Districts 7