Despite experiencing mixed fortunes against the Sydney Trains, the Sydney University Rugby League Football Club (SURLFC) proved on Saturday that they are made of the right stuff.
It was a tough day for the division one team, who went down narrowly 30-22 against last year’s premiers in round two of the NSW Tertiary Rugby League competition.
Sydney Uni led 16-0 early thanks to tries from Liam Coe and Adam Sarkis, before the Trains hit back with a series of their own tries. Defensive efforts from Jay Parker and Adam Harber led a gallant effort to keep the score close. Tommy Williams tried hard to generate some attack, but limited ball and first play errors hurt the team’s chances. A fine first up performance from Daniel Betham and great involvement from SUSF EAP scholarship holder Gideon Mzembe kept the game in the balance in the last 15 minutes.
The team has now played last year’s grand finalists back to back and knows what the standard is and there will be plenty of hard work to come in future weeks.
The Kobe Jones Man of the Match in division one was Gideon Mzembe. Mzembe will receive his $100 gift voucher courtesy of Kobe Jones.
The second division team got off to a good start to lead 6-0 within the first five minutes. The team showed great determination to hold out a big Sydney Trains team with strong defence. Sydney Uni scored two more tries before the Trains scored. Sydney Uni led 16-4 at half time.
Sydney Uni continued to dominate in the second half and led 28-4 with 18 minutes left. Sydney Trains than had a glut of possession to fight back to trail 28-22 with just four minutes left on the clock. Sydney Uni stayed composed to hold on and win 30-22.
The Kobe Jones Man of the Match in division two was Grant Sciberras. Sciberras will receive his $100 gift voucher courtesy of Kobe Jones.
First Division: Sydney Trains30 (David Rauluni 2, Winton Mare, Delano Mare, Keliti Vaingalo, TJ Taotua tries; Nathan Mare 3 goals) d Sydney University22 (Adam Sarkis 2, Liam Coe, Tom McCarthy tries; Tom McCarthy, Adam Sarkis, Tom Williams goals) at Middleton Park on April 12.
Second Division: Sydney University 30(Elias Dagher 2, Kingi Ngatai, Grant Sciberras, Graham Harris tries; Kingi Ngatai 5 goals) d Sydney Trains22 (Nathan Santi 2, Dean Tarrant, Sitiveni Loko tries; Nathan Santi 3 goals) at Middleton Park on April 12.
