By MARK CASHMAN

Sydney Uni continued their unbeaten start to the 2020 Shute Shield competition on Saturday when they defeated Manly 10-6 in a tense encounter on Saturday.

There was only one try scored in this one but that didn’t take away from the tense nature of the contest with James Kane pushing the home side ahead with a second half that made up the final scoreline.

Earlier Henry Clunies-Ross marked his 50th first grade match with a try which when you consider his recent injury travails was an absolute triumph for someone who has hit back against an injury that threatened not only his footy career but his life.

Clunies-Ross sliced open a shin on a corner post at this time last year at Uni but the substantial cut became infected and he had to battle a flesh eating bacteria.

The Students are renown for taking the chances when they come and that’s exactly what they did against Manly.

Uni coach Michael Hodge described the game as a scrap.

“Unforced errors and missed opportunities made it difficult to find any rhythm,” he said.

“And the experienced Manly pack did everything they could to upset our flow.

“I was really happy with our defence from the outset and it was the reason why we were able to hang on.

“I’ve got to give a special mention to Henry Clunies Ross who was one of our best. That’s two tough games for two games – we’ll take that any day of the week.”

“We played with a lot of grit again but didn’t execute well enough to win,” Manly Marlins coach Matt McGoldrick said.

“We did a lot of things right but ultimately to beat them you’ve got to take your chances. They are a good side.

“A lot to like about us though, to hold them to 10 points when the last two years they’ve averaged around 40 – that is a decent effort.

“Our points went to Connor Davidson, Van Stewart and Hutana Coffin.”

SYDNEY UNI 10 (Henry Clunies-Ross try; James Kane conversion, pen goal) d MANLY 6 (Yool Yool 2 pen goals) at University No.2.

IMAGE: ADAM MCDONALD / MANY MARLINS