By MARK CASHMAN

Southern Districts came from behind to defeat Sydney Uni 32-31 in a cracking Round Five of the Shute Shield competition.

Souths scored a late try from a rolling maul to nudge ahead in what was a great match at Uni on Saturday.

Other winners on the day were Gordon, Northern Suburbs, Randwick, Eastwood and Warringah.

Here’s what the coaches thought about all the action:

SYDNEY UNI V SOUTHERN DISTRICTS at Uni No.2 Oval

Southern Districts have developed a reputation for playing their games out for the full 80 minutes in this year’s Shute Shield, but they went above and beyond in their come from behind to beat Sydney Uni 32-31 on Saturday.

The Rebels rolled in two late tries to Dominic McGrath, the winning score coming in the 85th minute, to wipe out a nine-point deficit to record what must be one of the pivotal performances from the club in recent times.

The match had been keenly contested throughout and the Students got the break that at the time looked match winning when James Kane and Henry Clunies-Ross scored scored tries to make the score 31-22.

Before that the two sides had gone pretty much score for score with Souths edging their way in front midway through the second half 22-14.

That sparked Uni into action with their backline offering opportunities to Kane and Clunies-Ross that were duly taken.

Then came the referee’s time heroics from the visitors.

“A game like this really shows that the heart of club rugby in Australia is well and truly thriving. This is a great day for the Shute Shield,” Souths skipper Tim Metcher told 7TWO on Saturday.

“It was an intense battle minute one to 80. We were able to claw our way back. What a way to finish the game.”

The game was billed as a bit of showdown between Souths coach Todd Louden and Uni director of rugby and coach Michael Hodge.

Louden had coached Hodge in his years at Uni in 2011 and 2012, snaffling a premiership in the second year of his time there together.

Louden said: “Looking at the game, overall you must say that we got lucky but having said that we created out own luck by just keeping in the game.

“But we are a young side still finding our way. We are far from our potential at this stage of the season but we’ll take a win like that any time.

“I was just proud of the way that they hung in there. It was gutsy the way that they worked their way into the lead, fell behind and then got ahead at the end.”

Uni co-coach Joe Horn-Smith said the playing group would take their lessons from the weekend and work towards being better on Saturday.

“It’s extremely important that we learn from this and work hard to be a better team next week,” Horn-Smith said.

“Southern mauled the ball well and we didn’t problem solve quick enough and work out how to defend it.

“Our back line though looked sharp and executed well at different times during the game.

“Moving on from that game it’s a huge opportunity for both teams when we travel to TG Millner for the game against Eastwood.

“There is a lot of history between the Woods and Uni at T.G. so it should be a great spectacle.”

SOUTHERN DISTRICTS 32 (Laurence Tominiko, Joe Cotton, Apaola Tea Lama, Dominic McGrath 2 tries; Christian Kagiassis 2 conversions, 1 pen goal) d SYDNEY UNI 31 (Tim Lilomaiva, James Kane, Henry Clunies-Ross 2, Tim Clements tries: Kane 3 conversions)

MANLY V GORDON at Manly Oval

In a season of continuing achievements Gordon recorded their first win over Manly home or away in 12 years when they toughed it out to beat the Marlins 26-3 on Saturday.

Unlike the big win over Warringah the week before at Chatswood Oval, Gordon really had to fight for every inch of grass at the Village Green and came away thankful that they were able to negotiate what is always a big ask.

The Marlins scrum and lineout got the better of the visitors at different times throughout the match and afterwards Highlanders coach Darren Coleman unusually said that this was their best performance of the season so far.

“It was our least clinical performance in terms of execution to date but the fact that the boys stayed composed and in the fight in the face of the frustration of our errors and a physical Manly team that played with plenty of passion and a tight score line,” Coleman said.

“I was very pleased that the players found a way to win without a dominant scrum and a faltering line out and our on field leaders deserve a big wrap for their composure.

“Full credit to Manly. Once they cut a few extra errors out of their game they’ll challenge most teams and push the playoffs in the run home.”

Coleman also had a shot at his younger brother Scott who he coaches against in the 7TWO match of the round next Saturday in Newcastle.

“The challenge is to now get our execution quality back up this week as the clown up north will have his circus ready to rumble,” Coleman said.

Manly coach Matt McGoldrick said his side was very much in the battle but were hurt by little errors.

“We had a bad five minutes just after we started to get some momentum in the game,” McGoldrick said.

“We were pressing hard before half time and for a long period after half time, made three or four errors and Gordon scored twice.

“But that’s what good teams do. Gordon are a really good side. They can beat you a bunch of ways and will certainly take some beating.

“I was happy enough with out application but ultimately not good enough against the best teams.”

McGoldrick said he was happy with the performance of high profile recruit Harley Attwater.

“He played okay but as you would imagine it was always going to be tough on a weeks prep. He will be better moving forward,” he added.

GORDON 26 (Mahe Vailanu, Harrison Goddard, Brandon Quinn 2 tries; Rodney Iona 3 conversions) d MANLY 3 (Harley Attwater pen goal)

WESTERN SYDNEY TWO BLUES V EASTWOOD at Lidcombe Oval

National sevens squad refugee Tim Anstee scored a hat trick of tries as Eastwood overwhelmed the Western Sydney Two Blues 57-14 on Saturday.

The Woodies got out of the blocks quickly and had the Two Blues very much on the back foot for much of the afternoon.

Woods coach Ben Batger had warned his charges that this was going to be a tough encounter with the big Two Blues forwards likely to run at them in the early stages.

But it was Eastwood who tucked the ball under their arms early and really ripped in.

“Yes it was probably our most pleasing performance of the year because I think the Two Blues are a dangerous side,” Batger said

“We were able to execute a lot better and kept them under pressure and made them make a lot of tackles which tired their big boys out .

“Tane Edmed had his best game controlling possession and territory while Tim Anstee had a really good game and showed he can do the tough stuff but also finish off tries.”

It was Anstee’s starting debut at Eastwood and he joins a select club in the forward pack at TG Millner in having scored three tries in a game along with hooker Ed Craig.

Others to do well for the Woods included Sione Tau and Michael Iceley while Fabian Goodall was as robust as ever scoring two tries.

Two Blues coach Joel Rivers said his side took a step back after making some gains the week before against Southern Districts.

“They didn’t turn up to play. Nothing we practiced was executed. We tried to run out of our own half, throw off loads in contact and be fancy when we needed to do the basics,” Rivers said.

“I explained to them they have a reputation to live up to as a hard running forward pack. Eastwood came out of the blocks and took it to us, and the team didn’t react.

“We didn’t win any contact battles in attack or defence, bouncing off a heap of tackles and gave Eastwood way too much time to run into space.

We have had some bad injuries over the past few weeks which is really testing our depth and character, but that’s no excuse for what was a terrible performance.

“Monday’s review will be interesting.”

EASTWOOD 57 (Willie Leoso, Tim Anstee 3, Lachland Shelley, Enoka Muliufi, Fabian Goodall 2, Harry Wilson tries; Tane Edmed 6 conversions) d WESTERN SYDNEY TWO BLUES 14 (Nicholas Blacklock, Penimapa tries; Rory Garrett 2 conversions)

RANDWICK V PENRITH at Coogee Oval

Randwick coach Ben McCormack had nothing but praise for the efforts of Penrith in the wake of the Galloping Greens big 59-3 win on Saturday.

McCormack spent some time with the Emus’ coaching group – John Muggleton, Dan Geurs and Matt ‘Bubba’ Ryan – in the wake of their game and had nothing but bouquets for their efforts to get their side to where they are now.

“What a fantastic job these guys are doing,” McCormack said.

“It was an unbelievably tough ask to find and assemble a side to compete in the Shute Shield in just eight weeks and while they haven’t won one just yet they’re all so positive about the talent and potential in their group and I agree with them.

“I think they’ll roll a few teams before the year is out and that Western Sydney Derby v the Two Blues will be an absolute cracker.”

The Emus started well on Saturday and the Wicks took a little while to adjust to their tactics.

The visitors actually led 3-0 after 25 minutes and dictated terms early and were smart around set piece which stopped a number of the home side’s scoring opportunities.

“Once we recognised and addressed those issues we kicked into gear and played some nice footy,” McCormack said.

“Was also good to welcome Tiaan Tauakipulu back into the fold after he was released from the Waratah bubble during the week and he really benefited from some much needed game time.

“Zac Carr was good in his first start for the year and Sam Croke had some nice touches in there as well.

“The resident old man Adam Freier came back from injury off the bench and put in a good shift.
“His experience is great for our group and he has an uncanny knack of being able to cheat his running lines and quickly arrive at the action especially when there’s a sniff of a try.

Importantly there are no injuries for Randwick at this stage as they look forward to a big challenge against Southern Districts this coming Saturday.

RANDWICK 59 (Sam Croke Tyzac Jordan, Zac Carr, Triston Reilly, Locky Miller, Brooklyn Hardaker tries; Dave Horwitz 6 conversions) d PENRITH 3 (Dean Blore pen goal).

NORTHERN SUBURBS V HUNTER WILDFIRES at Bon Andrews Oval

Northern Suburbs centre Nathan Russell scored two tries in a dominating display that underlined his increasing confidence at Shute Shield level as the Shoremen beat the Hunter Wildfires 50-10 on Saturday.

Russell has been in and around the first grade group at North Sydney Oval for a number of seasons but really made a major statement of his ability with a great all round effort in what was a hugely physical game.

Norths scored seven tries to one but that was far from being an indicator of how the game played out.

As his centre partner Harry Burey said after the game, much like the effort against Penrith in Round Two, the scoreline was far from being a true indication of what happened between the white lines for the 80 minutes.

The Wildfires really took it to the home side on Saturday but it was their connectivity in defence and just the general hustle that saw the scoreline for the home side keep ticking over.

Russell was all over the ground, carrying tough ball off his own tryline, pulling off big hits in the middle of the field and got a cheeky strip from a kick chase that led to his second try.

Norths coach Earl Va’a said he thought his side had played the Wildfires at the right time.

“I spoke with their coach Scotty Coleman in our rooms after the game and mentioned to him that I had been looking at them since Round One and that they had improved each week,” Va’a said.

“They are going to get some results as the season goes on and that at the end of the day is going to be good for the game up there in Newcastle.

“We’ll take that sort of win any day of the week and the fact that the stats showed that possession was pretty much 50-50 says something about the way we took our chances and defended.

“There is still a lot to get right before we head to Woollahra Oval to play Eastern Suburbs so it’s back to work.”

There was some grief for Norths with skipper Nick Palmer blue carded after a collision just after the halftime break and the hamstring injury that prop Isaac Cavu sustained in a clean out situation.

Both will be missing next week with Cavu likely to spend a few more weeks on the sideline.

Wildfires coach Scott Coleman said the outings was brutal at times but he saw some more growth in his group.

“They strangled us in the first 20 minutes. We couldn’t get out of our own end,” Coleman observed.

“I can’t be too harsh because we competed for 80 minutes. Down 50-10, a lot of teams would give up when you are defending your own line, but we held them out for 10 phases.”

NORTHERN SUBURBS 50 (James Margan 2, Brad Hemopo, Angus Sinclair, Nathan Russell 2, Max Burey tries; Sinclair 6 conversions, 1 pen goal) d HUNTER WILDFIRES 10 (George Noa try; Michael Moloney 1 conversion, 1 pen goal)

WARRINGAH V WEST HARBOUR at Pittwater Rugby Park

Warringah, under pressure after a morale sapping loss to Gordon last weekend, weathered a patchy first half but got their act in some order when they defeated West Harbour 28-14 on Saturday.

The Rats and the Pirates were locked at 7-all for much of the middle stages of the game but got some pay from the efforts of No.8 Mungo Mason at the contact areas and the wizards of Ben Marr a bit wider.

Wests, who changed up their preparation substantially this week, in fact scored first and had the Warringah scrum under some pressure in the first 40 minutes.

But some odd decisions at different times meant that scoring opportunities were missed and the search goes on for that elusive first victory of 2020.

Warringah coach Mike Ruthven said it was pleasing to get a response from his team and the five points that they needed to pout some life into their campaign.

“We again made life hard for ourselves and appear to be our own worst enemy at the moment,” Ruthven said.

“We left three certain tries out there and weren’t able to capitalise on some other very good opportunities but we showed some resilience to turn our performance around.

“We are still searching for that consistent, complete performance but I am confident that it is just around the corner.

“The players continue to keep working hard and their commitment towards that hasn’t diminished one bit.

“I was super impressed with the work rate and positive impact Mungo Mason had for 80mins, Ben Marr had some incredible involvements where is shear desire to compete and his uncanny skill created opportunities for us.”

Ruthven added that his scrum half Josh Holmes really “sparked us up” in the second half after a slow start to the season.

Wests were knocked around by a trio of late withdrawals – Josh Coward, Rod Davies and Jack Debreczini – but Wests coach Mark Gudmunson said poor decisions in scoring opportunities did the damage to his side.

“We dominated scrums, we got into great positions to convert pressure into points and just could not complete,” Gudmunson said.

“Our execution at times was really poor. Our players need to get better as this was a game that we should have won.

“We had a really tough ‘no try’ call early in the game and were without a few guys that we thought would add a lot of experience, but that was no excuse.

“We had the team and created the opportunities to win the game. We just need to work hard and fix these things; they are easy fixes, but we seem to be making them on a regular basis.”

Gudmunson said the road over the next three weeks was a tough one with Manly, Gordon and Sydney Uni on the agenda.

There is no hiding and the players know that, but it gives us a great chance to show what we can do,” he said.

WARRINGAH 28 (Wes Thomas, Charlie McKill, Mungo Mason, Tyson Davis tries; Tom Halse 4 conversions) d WEST HARBOUR 14 (James Turner, Tavite Gadeisuva tries; Patrick Pellegrini 2 conversions)

EASTERN SUBURBS had the bye

IMAGE: AJF PHOTOGRAPHY