Sydney University finished too strong for Northern Suburbs to post a 39-19 result in their Round 13 Shute Shield clash at North Sydney Oval on Saturday.
With only one point separating the combatants at halftime, the Students put on four second-half tries to earn a bonus point and consolidate their fourth spot on the competition ladder.
Winger James Dargaville and a fullback Jack Macklin each scored two tries, with winger Henry Clunies-Ross and flanker James Nonu-Carling also bagging five pointers. Macklin took his points tally for the day to 19 with three conversions and a penalty goal.
The Students fielded three Waratah captains in their ranks, with Dave Dennis returning from a long injury after lacerating his leg to join centre Tom Carter and number eight Pat McCutcheon at North Sydney Oval.
Dennis was the Waratahs captain in the Super XV this season before the injury cruelled his chances of playing against France in the three-Test Series, while McCutcheon and Carter led the Waratahs on occasions last year.
Dennis said he was keen to get back on the park to push for a return to the Waratahs as the business end of the Super XV season approaches.
“It was a great opportunity to get back to where it all started for me,” he said. “I needed to get some running in my legs and to get some contact so I can go into the Brumbies game as prepared as possible.”
The win took Sydney University to 48 competition points on a ladder headed by unbeaten Manly on 63. Warringah (51), Eastwood (51), Sydney University (48), Randwick (33) and Parramatta (33) make up the top six.
Manly also head the Club Championship on 2276 points, with Sydney University (2232) and Eastwood (2183) still in contention.
The interesting results to come out of Saturday’s round were in First and Second grade Colts which were won by Northern Suburbs. Norths scored five tries in posting a 39-22 result in First Grade Colts, and earned a bonus point in scoring four tries in the 28-14 Second Grade Colts scoreline.
While Sydney University Firsts Colts have been rattling up some massive scores in recent weeks, they’ve also been leaking plenty of tries, and Norths took advantage.
Sydney University will host West Harbour at No.1 Oval this Saturday, with First Grade to kick off at 3pm.
Scoreboard
First Grade – Shute Shield: Sydney University 39 (Jack Macklin 2, James Dargaville 2, Henry Clunies-Ross, James Nonu-Carling tries; James Macklin 3 goals, pen goal) d Northern Suburbs 19 (Ben Matwijow, Richard Woolf, Michael O’Hea tries; Jack Grant 2 goals) at North Sydney Oval.
Second Grade – Colin Caird Shield: 54 (Jack Sullivan 3, Ben Lenehan, Jason Holmeyr, Jock Merriman, Tim Reid tries; Byron Hodge 5 goal, 3 pen goals) d Northern Suburbs 17 (Conner Healey, Mike O’Hea, J Butcher tries; Joe Jenkins goal).
Third Grade – Henderson Shield: Sydney University 62 (Oscar Pryor-Lees, Jack Jones, Richard Trepant, Hamish Dunbar, Michael Whiddup, David Fong, Sam English, Rhys Griffiths, Jason Date, Josh Koops tries; David Fong 6 goals) d Northern Suburbs 12 (J Clarke, N Marshall tries; D Loader goal).
Fourth Grade – Henderson Cup: Sydney University 24 (Shannon O’Brien, Nathaniel Deans, Kodie Drury-Hawkins tries; Tom Wilson goal, Billy Macklin goal) d Northern Suburbs 0.
Colts
First Grade: Northern Suburbs 39 (5 tries) d Sydney University 22 (4 tries).
Second Grade: Northern Suburbs 28 (4 tries) d Sydney University 14.
Third Grade: Sydney University 55 (9 tries) d Northern Suburbs 12.
