By TOM PRIMMER

Easts have provided former Wallaby skipper Ben Mowen with a fairytale finish to his playing career, defeating the University of Queensland 33-18 to win the Hospital Cup on Sunday. 

The Tigers trailed early, with the defending premiers surging to a 15-7 lead as they aimed to become the first side to win back-to-back premierships since 2003. 

But a Shane Kennedy double propelled Easts to a 19-15 lead at the break and the Tigers never looked back, dominating the second stanza to claim a 15-point win and secure a sixth premiership for the club across the grades. 

The minor premier’s success was again built on their set-piece, with a simply dominant scrum putting the Heavies on the back foot for the full 80-minutes and delivering a pair of tries for the Tigers.

Prop Rhys van Nek was named the Tony Shaw Medallist as man of the match, with the tight-head putting in an industrious display around the park alongside anchoring the Easts scrum. 

Easts head coach Moses Rauluni lauded his side’s performance in what was a tough battle against an experienced Uni outfit. 

“I’m very happy for the boys and for the club winning six premierships,” Rauluni said. 

“We didn’t start that well, the first 20 minutes they were on us. 

“They were all over our ball, we gave away a lot of penalties and easy yards and even though we scored a few points early, we let them back in the game pretty easily. 

“We talked about winning the contact and winning the defensive line, and we didn’t do that to start, but we certainly fixed it up after half time.” 

Pilz was again among the Tigers best, scoring a stunning individual try in the second half, while George Francis and Richie Asiata were also standouts alongside van Nek in the front row. 

After Jack Frampton succumbed to injury late, Aidan Toua made the late move to flyhalf with aplomb, pulling the strings for the Tigers, with his replacement at fullback Dylan Taikato-Simpson similarly impressive. 

Backrowers Tom Milosevic and Michael Gunn were typically productive, while Mowen again showed his class in what could be his final outing on a rugby field. 

With 15 Wallaby caps to his name and a professional career spanning across 14-years and numerous hemispheres, a Hospital Cup title is the perfect way for Mowen to finish his career. 

“It’s a fairytale ending for him and it couldn’t have happened to a better bloke,” Rauluni said of his captain. 

“For a guy to come from professional rugby, Test rugby and come and play for an amateur club like us and really lead the boys around the pitch, he deserves it.” 

The loss is a disappointing finish to the season for UQ, although there were plenty of positives for the Heavies on Sunday afternoon. 

Connor Vest capped an impressive debut Queensland Premier Rugby season with another strong performance, while veteran Scott Gale showed his experience at flyhalf for the Heavies. 

UQ Director of Rugby Elton Berrange said the loss has lit a fire for his side to come back better in 2021. 

“Easts were just too good for us today,” Berrange said. 

“Did we get the rub of the green, probably not, however we got sucked into their game and they’re just too good at it. We just didn’t deserve to win. 

“Straight after the game it’s obviously easy to be disappointed, but a lot of our stalwarts are super keen already to fire up and get going again for 2021.”

Easts 33 (Shane Kennedy 2, George Francis, Eli Pilz tries, penalty try; Pilz 3 conversions) d University of Queensland 18 (Connor Vest, Jordan Lenac tries, Jock Campbell conversion; Campbell 2 pen goals)

IMAGE: BRENDAN HERTEL / QRU