With two rounds of the Shute Shield, Sydney’s premier rugby union competition, to be played, Sydney University’s chance of a finals berth is all but over.
Manly head the Shute Shield competition on 68 points, having collected 14 bonus points in their 13 wins from 16 rounds.
Randwick lie second on 60 points, with Warringah (59), Southern Districts (56), defending premiers Northern Suburbs (54) and Eastwood (50) making up the top six.
Sydney University are five points adrift on 45 with eight wins and 11 bonus points to their credit. While they’ve scored 517 points to date, they’ve conceded 471.
Their very, very slim chance of sneaking into the six would be to post big wins (over Gordon at Chatswood Oval and Parramatta at Merrylands RSL Park) while Eastwood would need to lose to Northern Suburbs and last-place Penrith.
While the Students were impressive in defeating Eastwood 32-22 at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday, their season basically ended the previous weekend with a crucial 35-20 loss to Warringah at Pittwater Rugby Park. Having skipper Tom Carter sin-binned for dissent didn’t help the cause that day.
The saving grace for SUFC in 2017 is the chance to retain the Club Championship and the Colts Club Championship.
Despite a poor season from the First XV, Sydney University’s lower grades and three Colts teams have put the club in a position to claim both club championships.
Sydney University head the Club Championship on 2481 points, with Randwick (2457) the main contender with two rounds to play.
Scoreboard
Sydney Women’s Premier Grade competition – Semi-Finals
Semi-Final 1: Sydney University 37 (Natalie Crow 2, Marjorie Linares, Iliseva Batibasaga, Bronte Stutchbury, Barbara Waddell, Kimberley Davey tries; Jade Fonua goal) defeated Campbelltown 0 at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday.
Semi-Final 2: Warringah 34 defeated Parramatta 7 at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday.
Grand Final: Sydney University versus Warringah at Boronia Park on Saturday, July 29, with a 3pm kick-off.
Sydney Premier Grade competition – Round 16
First Grade: Sydney University 32 (Nick Champion de Crispigny, Nick Phipps, Guy Porter, Greg Jeloudev tries; Christian Kagiassis 3 goals, 2 pen goals) defeated Eastwood 22 (Hugh Roach, Michael Kovacic, James Sarks tries; Tom Hill 2 goals, pen goal) at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday.
Second Grade: Sydney University 58 (Jock Merriman 2, Henry Clunies-Ross 2, Stuart Nutt, Banjo Travers, James Kane, Ezrah Amituanai tries; James Kane 6 goals, 2 pen goals) defeated Eastwood 23 (Zachery Mackay 2, Nicholas O’Connor tries; Wesley Sefuiva goal, 2 pen goals) at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday.
Third Grade: Sydney University 29 drew with Eastwood 29 at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday.
Fourth Grade: Sydney University 8 (Matthew Dowsett try; Joshua Hardie pen goal) defeated Eastwood 5 (James Day try) at Sydney University Football Ground on Saturday.
Colts
First Grade: Sydney University 38 (James Armstrong 2, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Rau Rotuisolia, Eddy King, Nathaniel Tamwoy tries, Daniel Poletto 4 goals) defeated Eastwood 20 (Max Stewart, Thomas O’Connor, Barton Picone tries; Connor Moran goal, pen goal) at St Paul’s College Oval on Saturday.
Second Grade: Sydney University 45 (Harry Potter 3 Sean Hasegawa 2, Josh Sheridan, Hayden Pomare tries; Joshua Hardies 5 goals, Edward Renton goal) defeated Eastwood 34 (Bryce Nielsen, Apisalome Rabuka, Liam Baker, Zak Hickey, Daniel Wu, Jamieson Williams tries; Patrick Renolds goal, Benjamin Shelley goal) at St John’s College Oval on Saturday.
Third Grade: Sydney University 34 (Sydney Malifa, Sean O’Byrne, Dane Stephens, Toby Dickinson, Julian Manieson, Connor Farnell tries; Edward Renton 2 goals) defeated Eastwood 12 at St John’s College Oval on Saturday.
