A double to HSBC Waratah Nathan Trist in his 100th appearance for Sydney University was too much for Eastern Suburbs as they went down 38-15 at a wet Woollahra Oval. The win for the Students pushes them from fourth into second position on the Shute Shield ladder after nine rounds. Eastwood maintain the top spot after an impressive 32-14 point victory over Randwick at T.G. Millner Field.
In other round nine matches Southern Districts defeated Warringah 30-20 at Pittwater Rugby Park, Manly beat Parramatta 26-19 at Merrylands RSL Rugby Park, Northern Suburbs got over Penrith 22-5 at Nepean Rugby Park, while West Harbour upset Gordon 15-8 at Chatswood Oval.
Sydney University 38 (2 Nathan Trist, Matt Schwager, Daniel Kelly, Tom Carter, Alfie Mafie tries; Daniel Kelly 3 cons, Nathan Trist con) d Eastern Suburbs 15 (Pauli Taumoepeau, Luke Irwin tries; Angus Sinclair con, pen)
Sydney University claimed the Sir Roden Cutler Shield with a great 38-15 victory over Eastern Suburbs, which saw the Students backline revel in the wet conditions at Woollarah Oval.
Sydney University's big guns came out firing with HSBC Waratahs Tom Carter and Jono Jenkins featuring prominently in the match. However it was a double to winger Nathan Trist that ultimately proved the difference, which puts the Students in second position on the Shute Shield ladder.
After a 10 minute battle between the forward packs, Sydney University were the first to score after halfback Matt Schwager grabbed a try after a fantastic sniping run from the ruck. Flyhalf Daniel Kelly converted making the scores 7-0.
It took Eastern Suburbs another 10 minutes to grab their first points of the match when flyhalf Angus Sinclair slotted a huge penalty kick. Halfback Luke Irwin then put the Beasts out into an 8-7 lead when he scored his teams first try of the match.
However, Kelly would take back the lead for the Students soon after when he cut through some soft defence to score under the sticks. The flyhalf converted his own try to go in with a 14-8 lead at halftime.
Trist's first try soon after the break was the catalyst for the win as he pounced on a dropped ball and slid over the line. Kelly slotted a sideline conversion to make the scores 21-8.
With a fight back in hand Eastern Suburbs had to get on the board quickly, and they did just that with captain and No.8 Pauli Taumoepeau crashing over after a big push by the Beasties' off a five meter scrum.
However the class of Uni shined through in the wet conditions, as they grabbed another three tries through fullback Alfie Mafi, centre Tom Carter and Trist who got his second and booted the conversion making the final scores 38-15.
Eastwood 32 (2 Tom Alexander, Mitch Lees, Mick Snowden tries; Ben Batger 3 cons, 2 pens) d Randwick 14 (David Parsons, Finaupau'n Makamaka tries; Toby Browne 2 cons)
A double to lock Tom Alexander has kept Eastwood on top of the Shute Shield ladder for another week after they defeated Randwick 32-14 at T.G. Millner Field. The Woodies' were the only team to win at home in round nine emphasising the confidence they hold when they play on their home turf. The victory for Eastwood hands Randwick their ninth loss of the season. The Wicks' will look towards the coming rounds in the hope to construct some form of momentum to build towards next season.
Southern Districts 30 (Joe Lynch, Dallas Pawley, Lester Salanoa tries; Rohan Saifoloi 3 cons, 3 pens) d Warringah 20 (Michael Dalton, Hamish Angus tries; Hamish Angus 2 cons, 2 pens)
The big pack of Southern Districts were on fire for round nine with two of their big men picked up tries for the Rebels. After the shock loss to Penrith in round eight, The Rebels learned from their mistakes in the wet weather and amended the defeat with a comprehensive victory over Warringah.
The Rats remained in touch throughout the match with Hamish Angus picking up 15 points of his own, however it wasn't enough to stop Southern Districts from grabbing their seventh win of the season which keeps them in third spot on the ladder.
Northern Suburbs 22 (Mitch Walton, Corey Brown, Haydn Wolfsbauer tries; Dave Harvey con, pen, Haydn Wolfsbauer con) d Penrith 5 (Junior Taavili try)
Northern Suburbs continue to hunt down sixth spot after back-to-back wins, leaving them only six points behind Parramatta on the table. Dave Harvey once again made an impact on the match which saw the Shoremen run in three tries.
It was unfortunate for Penrith who missed out on the opportunity to win three in a row, as the class of the Northern Suburbs outside backs was too much for the Emus to handle. The Shoremen will play next Friday night against Warringah which will be a key match heading into the back end of the season.
West Harbour 15 (Tom Patterson, Macquire Tatola tries; Shaun Treweek con, pen) d Gordon 8 (Terry Preston try; Chris Burnett pen)
West Harbour picked off Gordon at Chatswood Oval marking the only real upset of round nine. The Pirates grab their second win of the season and will take the confidence of the win into next Friday night when they take on Manly at Manly Oval.
The wet conditions did not play into the hands of Gordon with the loss coming as a big disappointment for the first grade side. The Highlanders' will look to focus on next weeks match against Penrith next Sunday at Nepean Rugby Park.
Manly 26 (Josh Mann-Rae, Eddie Aholeleli, Damien Reti tries; Marshal Milroy con, 3 pens) d Parramatta 19 (Iese Leota try; Tom Woods con, 4 pens)
Manly picked up a valuable win over Parramatta at Merrylands RSL Park which saw HSBC Waratah Josh Mann-Rae grab his first ever try for the Marlins. The Marlins put the lessons of losing to Eastwood last week into practice running in three tries in the wet conditions. After a great game for NSW Country last week, winger Damien Reti put his good form into use running in a try of his own, sealing the win for Manly.
Parramatta remained in touch throughout the match with Tom Woods grabbing 14 points of his own, but it wasn't enough to defeat Manly who remain in fifth spot on the ladder due to for and against.
SRU Premiership Competition » Shute Shield (1st Grade)