Second Grade (Colin Caird Shield)
Second Grade: Sydney University 27 (Christian Yassmin 2, Chris Ingate, Sam Quinn tries; Byron Hodge 2 goals, pen goal) defeated Randwick 17 (David Vea, Regan Carr Tries; Chris Taripo 2 goals, pen goal) at Coogee Oval.
Third Grade (Henderson Shield)
Third Grade: Sydney University 15 (Samuel Barclay, Matt Hood tries; Connor O’Shea goal, pen goal) defeated Randwick 14 (C Davis, Charlie McKay tries; Tom Hiddleston 2 goals) at Coogee Oval.
Fourth Grade (Henderson Cup)
By James Cameron (Coach)
There was just enough rain on Saturday morning for Randwick council to deem Coogee oval unavailable for 4th grade and so Latham Park was the venue for us to avenge our Round 3 loss to Randwick. In bright sunshine, Randwick cleared from the kick off; from the resultant line-out, Malachy Mullin got us over the advantage line, one more phase and we had a penalty which Billy Macklin put into touch about 10 metres out. The line-out was taken and the forwards mauled towards the line; it was brought down just short, but the ball was shifted wide and Ben Canon scored in the corner. Less than 2 minutes on the clock and Uni had the perfect start.
It was clinical play and exactly the kind of rugby that we should seek to replicate for 60 minutes each week. Much of the first half was played around the middle of the field and Uni defended well, forcing mistakes from the opposition. A second incursion into the Randwick 22 saw Patrick Muller score the first of his 2 tries and Uni had a 10-0 lead.
Uni probably had the better of the first half but a couple of poor decisions hampered our chances to increase our lead; Randwick capitalised on one of those mistakes to score just before half time, leaving us with just a 3 point lead at oranges.
Randwick came out stronger in the second half and spent some time with ball in hand. We missed some first up tackles which gave Randwick some easy metres but our scrambling defence kept them out. Patrick Muller turned the tables with about 15 minutes to go when he read the play brilliantly to take an intercept and race away, leaving the Randwick fullback grasping at thin air, to score under the posts. It was perhaps a little against the run of play at the time but I thought a deserved score on the balance of the match.
So we had 15 minutes to hold on to a 10 point lead. We tried to play for field position more but our kicking was inaccurate and we put Randwick in positions to counter attack. They scored to make the last 5 minutes interesting as we tried to hold on to a 17-14 lead. But hold on we did; the boys showed great character to close out the game and the ability to win the tight ones will help us come finals time.
Overall I thought the match was a good example of how if we play controlled, smart rugby, we will put ourselves into winning positions. When we make poor decisions and silly mistakes, we allow the opposition into the game and good opponents will capitalise on that.
Max Hughes had a strong game as he consistently does, Nick Burden was solid in midfield and Malachy Mullin got the 3 points; Mal consistently got us over the advantage line with strong carries and lifted the team’s intensity in defence.
The result means that we are now mathematically certain of a place in the finals. With 4 games to go before then we will look to build momentum to go into the finals in the best possible position.
Fourth Grade: Sydney University 17 (Patrick Muller 2, Ben Cannon tries; Patrick Muller goal defeated Randwick 14 (Lachlan Kenneally, S Lolo tries; Tom Booth goal, Lachlan Kenneally goal) at Coogee Oval.
First Colts (W. McMahon Memorial Shield)
By Rob Taylor (Coach)
It was a pleasing day for Colts 1 to get the win against a very good Randwick team at St Pauls College on Saturday but what was most pleasing was all three Colts teams earning a bonus point win. I am sure our Colts teams will come across Randwick again in the finals and will be another high competitive set of games. The three wins on Saturday puts the Colts in a very strong position for the Colts Club Championship with four rounds to go, it also consolidated the 1st Colts top of the table position and raised the 2nd Colts to the top of their table, with 3rd Colts a close 2nd on their table.
As to the game highlights, Siaosi Halaifonua was our player of the day by leading the team in physicality and workrate, which were characteristics shown by the whole forward pack. Harry Johnson Holmes, picked up the two points for his loose forward workrate, skills of a centre and scrummaging of a bull. Our outside centre, Tim Clements scored a hat-trick and was a constant threat in attack and was awarded the a point for his efforts. Also to note, James Kane had a perfect day with the boot kicking seven from seven.
Unfortunately we lost Theo Strang for the season with a leg injury, we wish him a fast and speedy recovery.
First Colts: Sydney University 49 (Tim Clements 3, Harry Johnson-Holmes, George Lehmann, Siaosi Halaifonua, Theo Strang tries; James Kane 7 goals) defeated Randwick 12 at St Paul’s College Oval.
Second Colts (Shell Trophy)
Second Colts: Sydney University 24 (James Widders-Leece, Max Girdler, Harry Potter, Nathaniel Tamwoy tries; Harry Potter 2 goals) defeated Randwick 7 at St Paul’s College Oval.
Third Colts (Bill Simpson Shield)
Third Colts: Sydney University 29 (Davis Jensen, Sydney Malifa, William Wennerbom, Daniel Poletto tries; Daniel Poletto 3 goals, pen goal) defeated Randwick 21 at St Paul’s College Oval.