by Paul Cook –

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The Build-Up:
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After a meagre start to the season by their standards, Sydney University came into this clash with their old rivals off the back of two impressive wins away to both Souths and Norths. A third in a row over a team above them on the ladder would set them up nicely for a tough upcoming fortnight against the top two. Having lost their opening game of the season at Eastwood, Randwick have gone from strength to strength since, winning five on the trot which culminated with last weekend’s 50pt despatching of local rivals, Easts. A win at Uni Oval No.1 would be a significant confidence boost to Shannon Fraser’s young side.

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The Breakdown
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On a pitch that had suffered the full force of Sydney’s incessant downpour, a game of expansive, attacking rugby was always going to be unlikely. But credit must go to both sides for their endeavour on the night. Despite the intent, the first half was decided by penalty points only, Uni’s Byron Hodge punishing Randwick’s ill discipline to send his side to the sheds with a 9-3 advantage.

The Students came out firing after the break, a powerful scrum setting the platform for two tries in 10 minutes, Henry Clunies-Ross and Mitchell Whiteley the players to profit. Hodge turned the screw with another 10pts off the boot and with a quarter of the game remaining and the visitors’ desire seemingly drowning in the Varsity mud, a bonus point score for Uni seemed the most likely outcome.

However, a raft of changes, some enforced, unsettled the hosts’ rhythm and as the persistent rain turned into a deluge in the last 10 minutes, the Wicks took advantage to cross twice themselves through Mitch Short and Lotu Talakai. Another 10 minutes would have been interesting but the Galloping Greens resurgence was quelled by the final whistle, leaving Uni to revel in a 29-15 victory.

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The Wash-Up:
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As with last weekend’s debacle at Concord Oval, calling this match review ‘The Wash-Up’ has never been more pertinent as rain persistently lashed a sodden Uni Oval No.1 last Saturday night. Two sides with a preference for chancing their arm, running from deep and letting the ball sing in recent times, were inevitably curtailed by the conditions and a pitch which was already flooded underfoot in many places before kick-off.

But great credit must go to both teams for trying their best to put on a spectacle for the healthy crowd hunkered under the main stand and there was more than enough bravery, skill and commitment on display to warm the heart of even the coldest critic.

As Uni coach Chris Malone told Rugby News afterwards, simply ensuring the game was played was a challenge that had to be met, given the potential fixture pile-up if they had been forced to postpone a second match in seven rounds.

“It was always going to be touch and go but we had to get the game to go ahead because we’ve already had a wet weather postponement against Gordon and we couldn’t afford to go into the long weekend in June having to make up this fixture as well,” he said. “We knew that the ground was carrying a lot of water so it’s great credit to the ground staff here and everyone at Sydney Uni that allowed it to happen.”

Making A Splash: Spare a thought for the kitmen/women after this one – Photo: AJF Photography

Once the game got underway, it was always going to be a war of attrition in the trying elements and Malone was pleased with the way his young side went about their business.

“It’s 1st Grade footy and the big thing for us is ‘You’ve got to be in the fight’,” he continued. “We were in the fight at half-time, 6pts up in horrendous conditions and scoreboard pressure tells in games like this. We executed fairly well in those conditions and found some space coming out of our own end on a couple of occasions.

“Jake Gordon and Stu Dunbar are very good footballers that got an enormous amount out of the NRC last year and they proved tonight that they’ve learned a lot and they controlled the game pretty well. But I thought the conviction of our guys to play and rip in for each other was really good. The pleasing thing for me was that although we conceded late, our intent defensively was very good.”

Uni skipper in the injury enforced absence of Tom Carter is David Hickey. He was understandably pleased with the efforts of his team mates, and, having lost both home games prior to this match (they took the Easts fixture to Bowral), he was happy to give the home support something to cheer.

“I’m really happy with the win, we knew they were a good team and they’ve been playing well so to get a win – and at home – is really pleasing,” said the 23-year-old flanker. “Our front row were really good but all of the tight five really stood up tonight and I think – given the conditions – our nine and ten controlled the game really well. We had a fair bit of field position early on and stuck to the plan we had, it was just a case of building the scoreboard pressure.

“We were gifted a few points early on and we built from that, put pressure on them and it paid off after half-time. We knew they had to come out and force things a bit in the second half and I think that played into our hands a bit, especially when you can bring guys on like Angus Roberts to add a bit of spark.”

Randwick’s Sam Figg ponders his next move – Photo: AJF Photography

Randwick came into the game on the back of five successive wins and with plenty of confidence as a result but coach Shannon Fraser conceded that maybe their desire to keep doing what has been working for them had backfired. However, they won’t be changing their approach anytime soon.

“We looked at it that we wanted to continue to play football and that certainly worked against us early on,” he reflected. “We wanted to try and use the ball as best we could in these conditions, narrow things up and bring our kicking game into it a lot more but we didn’t get the territory and you probably saw that over the course of the 80 minutes.

“It would be interesting to see how the penalties were weighed in relation to the attacking team in both halves. In the first half we got crippled a bit when we defended and Uni got crippled in the second half when they defended so, there was probably a little bit of a misjudgement there but we do what we do and we’ll continue to keep doing it.

“We probably challenged the breakdown too much and gave too much decision to the referee in hindsight,” he continued. “I think that was an area of inconsistency across the board and we probably put ourselves in a position to be judged too many times and against a goal kicker like that, the scoreboard keeps ticking over and before you know it you’re in that mindset of being two scores behind and that changes the way you play.”

Ultimately, it was the 10 minutes after half-time that proved pivotal, Uni upping up the ante and working off a solid scrum base to grab two tries. Byron Hodge – surely Australia’s finest goal-kicking lock since John Eales? – converted both scores before adding two more penalties to build a commanding 29-3 lead. At that point, you wondered if this one may totally get away from the visitors but they gave ample evidence of their competitive nature to grab those two late five pointers and keep the Students honest.

But was it a case of Uni putting the cue in the rack and switching off after they made a host of replacements or kudos to the Wicks for fighting til the bitter end?

“It’s hard in the wet to put 40-50pts on a good team like that, we never thought that was going to happen,” says Hickey. “We didn’t put the cue in the rack but we did switch off a little bit and next thing you know, they stung us because they’re a good team. They got a bit of field position and played quite well with ball in hand at the end. They’ll be there or thereabouts at the end of the year.”

“The game did slip away from us in that early stage of the second half,” conceded Fraser. “Credit where credit’s due, Uni changed their game at half-time as well and caught us on the edge a bit. We started narrowing up our defence to try and put two men in the tackle but they outflanked us a little bit.

“I’d like to go back and have another good look at the scrum because in real time, I saw some inconsistencies there. Again, we’ve got to make sure we learn from it and I don’t think it was the best conditions to scrummage in but I was a little bit perplexed at times with some of the officiating. It’s a fifty/fifty contest and I didn’t think we came off with any positives there.

“The guys had confidence right to the end, that’s something we’ve spent a lot of time trying to instil in them from the off, and I commend them for the attitude they showed out there and for staying in it and fighting at the back end and I also commend them for the intent that we had. We stuck with it and gave it our best, we didn’t get the result but we’ll be better for it, no doubt. We’re going to lose games this year but we don’t want to change who we are, we want to fight through it and become better footballers for it.”

Full Steam Ahead: Scrum time in the rain produced it’s very own weather patterns – Photo: AJF Photography

The win cemented a positive turnaround for Uni after an indifferent start to their season. Losses to Easts and Manly had many raising their eyebrows, particularly with the run of fixtures that were scheduled to follow, and Chris Malone was happy with the response from a side that has been slowly coming together over the last couple of years.

“You’re starting to see belief,” he said. “We believe in their ability, it’s just a matter of them making sure that they do. They’ve all played about 30-35 1st Grade games now and they’re getting better each week and while we continue to back those guys, there’s also good competition within the club so they know they’ve got to be on their toes and put in good performances.

“I always look at games we’ve lost because there’s little touch points in all those games that make a difference. If we hold the ball against Easts we win but to be fair, Manly got stuck into us, they turned the ball over and scored off four turnovers so we couldn’t control possession.

“After those couple of losses it was always going to be a tough run – Souths away, Norths away, Randwick home and Eastwood away. That run of games looked daunting at the time but we’ve bagged three wins from three so far and we’ll have a better idea of where we’re at when we play the competition front runners next weekend.

“Eastwood are flying, they always find a way to win and they’ve got a lot of experience, so they will be a real test. It’s a long season, they don’t hand anything out in May and it’s a cliché but it’s just about next week, it’s about the next game. Our boys know that if they turn up for each other every week they’re in with a shout of winning. If we get our processes right and we can play the way we want to play, we’ll be there or thereabouts.”

“We’re flying under the radar a bit and rightly so, we haven’t done much yet,” offers captain Hickey. “We got towelled up by Manly on our home ground, we got done by Easts and we were lucky down at Souths, we got them on an off day. We’ve been a bit inconsistent. We’re a young team, everyone knows that but we’re pretty enthusiastic and we’ll keep rocking up every week and having a crack.

“You set milestones for the year, obviously, you’d like to go undefeated – that went out the window early on! – but we still have eyes on the finals and beyond. That’s the plan but not everything goes to plan. It’s good fun. It’s a young group that has a go every week and we’re just enjoying playing footy at the moment.”

The Final Whistle: Both sets of players trudge from the field for a well earned hot shower – Photo: AJF Photography

Randwick’s next challenge is Manly, like Eastwood, currently unbeaten and sure to offer the sternest of tests at Coogee Oval this Saturday. But you get the feeling Shannon Fraser and his talented young group will take much from this loss. It may just prove to be a good thing in the long run.

“A lot of these guys are young but they showed a character of men out there tonight, not only to have the belief to stay in there and keep fighting but when the weather got worse, the conditions got worse and fatigue kicked in, we found a way to work through that,” Fraser finished.

“There’s a positive there leading into Manly, which is going to be another big challenge. We’re under no illusions that the draw favoured us early on and that this is our tough period but these are the battles we have to have and we’re getting better I think.

“You don’t lose if you learn so we’ll make sure we learn from tonight and try to put together the best preparation we can going into this week. I was a little bit unfamiliar with how the season was given it was my return to the Sydney rugby scene this year but I think you’d be pretty happy with five wins from seven in any comp.”