Bond Uni coach Mick Heenan has rued his side’s inability to capitalise on chances, believing it’s the reason its lost back-to-back matches to start the 2025 season, ahead of a massive clash against UQ this weekend.

Bond’s losses were both extremely tight, with the side defeated by Wests, 15 points to 14, and Easts, 22 points to 20.

Speaking to Rugby News, Heenan – who is into his second year as head coach of Bond – said the defeats had left him feeling “frustrated”. 

“We haven’t been able to get across the line in two pretty close games, it’s the overriding emotion at the moment – frustration.” 

However, Heenan said there were some positives to take from both games, which featured strong performances from a number of players.

“We managed to keep the opposition to low scores – unfortunately we couldn’t nail our own opportunities – it’s been the story of our season so far,” he said. 

“Kobe Walters, our six, has been really good. Syris Schmidt is our 15, and he was really good against Easts. He’s had an up and down couple of years. His performances have been really encouraging.

“Another positive is we have had three colts guys play for us. We had Rocco Gollings who played the first two games. We’ve also had Charlie McCauley and Fergus Gillian play the second row for us and play well.”  

Bond play UQ away from home this weekend, with the hosts coming into the game full of confidence, following a one-point victory over Wests last weekend – its first win of the season. 

Heenan said both teams played a similar style of rugby, which made for an exciting tie. 

“We lost by a point to Wests, UQ beat them by a point. We have both had really close games against Wests,” Heenan said. 

“The difference was UQ took their chances – they didn’t have many and they nailed them. It’s an example for us to follow.

“We both play a similar style of game. The battle upfront will be pretty important. Set piece – scrum and line-out – will be crucial too. But whoever takes their opportunities will win.” 

Heenan added starting the season with back-to-back losses was providing the club with extra motivation to perform against UQ. 

“The losses are extra motivation,” he said. 

“We know through our mistakes that we have turned what could have been two great wins into two close losses. We are interrogating the reasons that happened, and looking for fixes.”

Despite feeling frustrated, Bond’s goals for the season have not changed. 

“You want to win – it’s always the goal,” Heenan said. 

“As I said, we have been frustrated. But Easts and Wests are both good teams. We really just need to find a way to turn these close losses into wins.”