By MARK CASHMAN

RANDWICK v EASTERN SUBURBS at Coogee Oval

Three tries, a stint in the sin bin and the heckling of the Randwick faithful at Coogee Oval but Beasties backorder Archie Gavin wouldn’t have traded it for quids.

After a bit of dry run in these derby games against Randwick and particularly at Coogee, Eastern Suburbs ran out impressive 46-33 winners in the Peter ‘Marzo’ Meagher memorial game on Saturday.

Gavin led the Beasties up front for a solid swath of the first half as the visitors took the high ground on what was an emotional afternoon made even more emotional by the stakes the two teams were playing for.

Pride of the east in the Shute Shield and honouring a great man from a great rugby family Peter Meagher.

Coogee Oval was packed and it must be said that elements of supporters from both had a feral element to them but that is what makes the Shute Shield so endearing.

The Beasties were  in charge at the break with the score at 31-14 but Randwick would not be turned away meekly.

Jack Barrett was a solid contributor for the homes side with two tries but more importantly he seems to have matured significantly from his time at the Waratahs.

I thought that Connor Tupai was the Beasties best despite the Gavin hat-trick of tries and the visitors will be be deep in the mix come finals time.

All in all a great advertisement for everything that isa good about the club game in Sydney. Let there be more!

MANLY v NORTHERN SUBURBS at Manly Oval

Manly and Northern Suburbs battled out an exciting 24-all draw on Saturday in front of a robust crowd with the two teams not able to be separated for the final 25 minutes of what was a pulsating encounter.

The result, nicely guided by refereeing royalty Angus Gardner, underlined the closeness of the teams in the middle regions of the Shute Shield this season with both Manly and Norths having chances to ice the game in the final stages.

The Marlins probably had more of those chances but Norths finished the game with ball in hand pressuring the home side with the accurate kicking boot of Matt Minogue ready to go if needed.

A knock on by Norths was the final act in what was a great game of rugby on one of those days that you can get at the Village Green.

The Marlins started the game in fine style notching up two tries to down their right edge to Will Kaye and Billy Dickens but Norths would be denied and hit back to a burrowing effort from Boston Kerapa.

Manly led 21-14 after tries to Meli Drue and Nathan Russell. The second half was a tense old time but the quality of the footy was first rate and it must be said Matt Ryan was lucky not to concede a penalty try.

Can’t wait for the return encounter!

WARRINGAH v GORDON at Pittwater Rugby Park

Warringah, helped by some bullocking work from centre Jackson Ropata and the guile of Byron Smith, continued their impressive start to the 2026 Shute Shield with a 24-17 win over Gordon on Saturday.

The scores were locked at 12-all at the break but the Rats, as they love to do at home, scored two quick tries – to Charlie Tupu and  Ben Woollett – got the home side out to a 12 point lead.

Woollett was handy throughout the afternoon scoring two tries and being busy with carries  coming out of the Rats own half, obviously fired up by the competition for spots in the Warringah backline.

What’s impressed most about the Rats was their cohesion and willingness to chase down balls other teams may leave to fate.

The Highlanders showed that they will be a competitive outfit, top four in some minds, and the more that they play together the more potent they will become.

Pres Tufuga toiled manfully throughout the afternoon along with Liam Usher and there were sparks of brilliance from Oli Arcus, Ben Pollack and Conor Hickey.

On to the next for Gordon and for the Rats it’s on to the derby against Manly on Anzac Day – the win was the perfect lead for that one.

That’s the closest anyone has come to beating the Rats in 2026 and there were things to celebrate and build on for the Highlanders.

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS v SYDNEY UNI at Forshaw Rugby Park

Two tries in the first half by returning Waratah and Wallaby Harry Potter set Sydney Uni on their ways to an open and entertaining 31-28 win over Southern Districts on Saturday.

Potter, who is working his way back from a leg injury, went over twice in the first 40 minutes of this encounter with scrum half teammate Hwi Sharples’ crisp service from line out and breakdown giving the visitors the edge in the wide channels.

The Students led 17-7 at the break with the home side unlucky not to be even closer to their more favoured rivals after being held up over the line in extra time of the first stanza.

The second half was an absolute cracker though with first Uni edging to what many considered to be a winning margin.

But this wasn’t Souths of recent seasons and they worked away hitting the front with an intercept try from skipper Isaac Kneepkens and another to replacement prop Lee Young.

Uni have been here before though and they worked away in the right corner of Forshaw before unleashing a backline move that saw George Poolman score.

Souths did have a chance to even up but Stuan Hutchinson’s penalty goal attempt wasn’t what he had dreamed of and it went wide, low and clunky.

A great afternoon’s entertainment at Forshaw and I can honestly saw that for the first time in quite some time the grass is greener in the shire.

WEST HARBOUR v WS TWO BLUES at Concord Oval

West Harbour celebrated their culture round in great style on Saturday but it was the Two Blues who came away with an impressive 38-12 bonus point victory.

But the visitors were made to work for their win with the game very much a contest right through until the 50th minutes.

The Two Blues got the ball rolling with a nice try to Christian Papa in the sixth minute but the Pirates showed they wanted to be in the fight and constructed a nice five pointer that saw Will Yates cross.

The scores was 19-12 at the break but once hostilities resumed it was Two Blues skipper Rodney Ioana who took the lead from inside centre.

Ioana piloted his side around the field, played on a couple of tries and by the final quarter of this game his side was well in control.

In the end the Two Blues scored six tries and thoroughly deserved the victory but it must be said Wests hung in the fight and created quite a few good things that coach Ben Rutherford would have been happy with.

The Two Blues though are the real deal and I would imagine would not be status field with nothing less than a finals spot.

Their celebration of club culture was impressive with a range of Pacifica dances and food at a well attended function.

The highlight being a bare chested dance from Wests Waratah Pete Samu. They’d love to see him on there field at some stage at Concord.

HUNTER WILDFIRES v EASTWOOD at Newcastle No.2 Sports Ground

Eastwood were in the headlines through much of the off-season for all the wrong reasons but in rugby a lot can be fixed by winning on a Saturday and that’s just the way the Woods have gone about their 2026 Shute Shield campaign.

Their 38-36 pulsating win over the Hunter Wildfires in Newcastle means they sit nicely in third spot on 10 points with Warringah and the Beasties.

Now I know it’s only two rounds into the season but there are signs that the Woods have a grit and toughness that will only be honed even further by their coach Anthony Griffin as we move into May, June and July.

As we all know early points are vital and that’s exactly what this side has achieved.

The Wildfires did start the day brightly with a nice try off the back of a scrum to Brendan Palmer but that was quickly reeled in by the Woods.

They led 21-12 at the break mainly through the work of fullback Isaac Crowe who has genuine gas with him scoring one laying on another.

The second half saw the Wildfires hit back with a try to Jack Barr but from there the game went backwards and forwards for much of the second half.

Nice grubbers, genuine speed and good hands characterised much of the work of the visitors and  this correspondent reckons they thoroughly deserve their lofty position on the Shute Shield competition table.