Second Grade (Colin Caird Shield)
Second Grade: Eastern Suburbs 26 defeated Sydney University 17 (Saia Tanginoa, Jack Redden tries; Byron Hodge 2 goals, Jock Merriman field goal) at Woollahra Oval on Saturday.
Third Grade (Henderson Shield)
Third Grade: Sydney University 27 (Mitchell Whiteley, Thomas Koerstz, Harrison Blake tries; Mesake Tagituimua 3 goals, 2 pen goals) defeated defeated Eastern Suburbs 3 at Woollahra Oval on Saturday.
Fourth Grade (Henderson Cup)
By James Cameron (Coach)
Uni 4th grade put in a disappointing first 15 minutes of Saturday’s match and that was sufficient to consign us to a 14-10 loss against Eastern Suburbs. Perhaps the boys were still wondering about whom to vote for when the match kicked off but our minds didn’t seem 100% on the task at hand. Some missed first up tackles and slow defensive organisation saw Easts score 2 early tries to take a 14-0 lead which they held on to half time.
Uni fought their way back into the game and were probably the better side for 40 minutes but we could only claw back 10 of the 14 point deficit. The boys fought hard until the end and we might have nicked it with just a bit more time but the ref had somewhere else to be and called the match off a minute early.
After strong starts to matches in the last few weeks it was disappointing that it took us so long to control the game this week. We will learn and we will be better next time but with only 2 rounds to go before the finals, there are no more second chances.
Xander Jackman did a stellar job playing out of position at fullback, Tinashe Washaya worked hard in the second row, and Will Davies carried strongly throughout the match to pick up the 3 points.
Fourth Grade: Eastern Suburbs 14 defeated Sydney University 10 (Maxwell Hughes, Will Macklin tries) at Woollahra Oval on Saturday.
First Colts (W. McMahon Memorial Shield)
By Rob Taylor (Coach)
1st Colts secured their Minor Premiership in the weekend and continue on their unbeaten run.
Our Easts performance was a 50/50 performance by our standards. Full credit to the way Easts fought in every contact situation to go forward or disrupt our possession.
The game started well for us with two converted tries within the first ten minutes. Both tries were of the style of rugby we want to play; high speed, clinical and aggressive on the gainline. We then made a series or clean linebreaks but threw away possession with a hopeful pass. For the rest of game, we had our moments but then held onto the ball a little too long and didn’t put it into space.
Top performers were, Max Girdler, James Kane and Patrick O’Doherty. Max was our player of the day, earning the award with his ability to go forward in most contact situations as well as dotting down for a try. James was awarded two points for elusive play and big kicking game. Patrick has been a constant workhorse who toils through a lot of unseen work and does not try to be anything extra, you just cannot function as a team without these unselfish types of players that are the glue of the team’s performance.
First Colts: Sydney University 33 (Tim Clements 2, Will McDonnell, Alex Masima, Max Girdler tries; James Kane 4 goals) defeated Eastern Suburbs 25 at Woollahra Oval on Saturday.
Second Colts (Shell Trophy)
Second Colts: Sydney University 39 (William Wennerbom 3, Hugh Summerhayes, Lincoln Whiteley, Harry Potter, Jaydon Faavae-Eli tries; William Wennerbom 2 goals) defeated Eastern Suburbs 12 at Woollahra Oval on Saturday.
Third Colts (Bill Simpson Shield)
By Gabriel Enright
Well Easts will be there or thereabout’s come finals time. For the first 15 minutes they threw everything but the kitchen sink at the young Students on the goal line but to no avail. With finals intensity and the will to repel the home sides onslaught, the D-Line formed time and time again, got off the line and held a well organised and executed attack scoreless.
At the 20th minute mark the Students slotted a penalty goal to lead 3 – 0.
Well into the second half both teams attacked – phase after phase, line break then cover tackle – a few more penalties were traded and the last stanza of play had the teams deadlocked on 6 points a’piece.
In moments like this it takes something really special from someone who really wants to win – After shoveling a ton of ball from halfback, then moved to No 10 to feed a ton of ball to the edge, Will Wennerbom sold a dummy and sliced through the line. With a fullback to beat Will Wennerbom chipped, chased, regathered and scored the winner. A star of the future had showed the devastating attacking potential that is yet to blossom at SUFC1863 Colts. 3 Points!
Sydney Malifa bent the line and carried the ball up for dozens of metres earning two points while Sean O’Byrne had an excellent work rate and contribution at No 7 for the one point.
Third Colts: Sydney University 13 (William Wennerbom try; William Wennerbom goal, pen goal, Ben Halmarick pen goal) defeated Eastern Suburbs 6 at Woollahra Oval on Saturday.