A young Sydney University team thumped the hard men of Samoa 35-12 on Friday night at the Sydney Football Stadium.
It didn’t take long for the Students to lay on the first try, with Dylan Evans smashing his way over the Samoan line after just 11 minutes leaving a swag of bodies in his wake.
Fullback Angus Roberts converted the try and University were ahead 7-0. Roberts kicked a further penalty for a Samoan offside and University were ahead 10-0 halfway through the first half.
University’s next try was a gem scored by another debutant David Fong who darted over the line from close range. A Roberts’ conversion saw University have a handy lead of 17-0 going into the break.
The first five minutes of the second half saw Samoa dominate and they were the first to score when their big winger chipped and chased to score in the Randwick end. The try was converted but University were still ahead 17-7.
University were not about to coast for the rest of the game. Returning backrower Anthony Pohlen scored from a trademark University rolling maul, while another try was scored by a toe through ball by the elusive centre Levi Dodd. Samoa scored a consolation try but some conversions and penalties shared by Roberts and the goal kicking second rower Byron Hodge, saw the final score reflect 35-12 in favour of University.
Coach Todd Louden was quietly pleased with the game and was particularly impressed with the young squad which he is moulding for the 2012 Shute Shield competition.
“They really pushed hard today and their attitude was exceptional,” said Louden. “This trial gave us a great opportunity to trial new players and new combinations, and I am happy with the performance of everyone in the squad.”
The notion of attitude was endorsed by returning Captain James McMahon, “We pushed attitude all week at training and I was happy with how the boys performed tonight.”
The final words were best summed up by David Fong on his Club debut, “It’s great fun playing for this Club and seeing the involvement of everyone in tonight’s game made the win even more special.”
