Shute Shield Review: Wicks shock Easts

Randwick yesterday surprised Eastern Suburbs, building up an unassailable first-half lead to secure a 22-13 victory over their higher-placed rivals.

The other two matches of the round saw Warringah fight hard to take an early lead against Sydney University, only for the Students to snatch a 20-15 victory in the last minutes of the match.  In Penrith, third-placed Southern Districts proved too strong for the home side, running in nine tries in a 58-6 victory.

Words by by Brittany Mitchell, Photos by www.seiserphotography.com.au.

Eastern Suburbs v Randwick

The Galloping Greens have moved up to seventh place, securing a win over Eastern Suburbs courtesy of a double from prop Tristan Goodbody.  Although both sides fought hard throughout the match, alternatively camping on each other’s try lines for most of the game, the Wicks’ first half lead proved too hard for Eastern Suburbs to chase down, with the visitors securing a 22 to 13 victory.

In the opening stages, Randwick displayed some of their best skills of the season, exploiting an injury-induced gap in the defence to run 60 metres to the tryline for a 5-0 in the first minute. But the Beasties hit straight back, getting within metres of the tryline from a rolling maul and converting the resulting penalty to make it 5-3 after 10 minutes.

Both sides continued to fight throughout the half, with the Galloping Greens making easy metres downfield before gifting the Beasties the ball and allowing them to relieve the pressure with clearing kicks. A Randwick penalty pushed the score to 8-3 after 20 minutes, before the Beasties scored a three-pointer of their own just minutes before the bell making the score 8-6. But as the break approached, Randwick hit straight back from the restart and cross in the corner through front rower Tristan Goodbody, making the score 15 to 6 at half-time.

In the early minutes of the second half, the Wicks continued to dominate but the Beasties fought hard, holding them out until the 56th minute, when quick hands saw Pete Samu through a gap and over the try line. The conversion added the extras putting the Galloping Greens in the lead 22 to 6.

Although the Beasties took possession for the rest of the match and mounted numerous attacks, last phase mistakes cost them point-scoring opportunities. It was not until the final stages that wing Anton Lavin found a gap and crossed the line for the Beasties’ only try. A penalty on the bell allowed the Beasties to bag a losing bonus point for finishing within seven points of the Wicks, but they couldn’t overturn the Wicks, who earned their sixth win in 13 games with the 22 to 13 outcome.

Randwick 22 (Tristan Goodbody 2, Pete Samu tries; Harrison Boileau 2 cons, pen) d Eastern Suburbs 13 (Anton Lavin try; Henry Hudson con, 2 pens) at Woolahra Oval. Referee Graham Cooper.

Warringah v Sydney University

In a tough match that saw both sides tussle for supremacy, it was the Rats who took the early lead, maintaining it until the 70^th minute when they began to falter under pressure. The Students crossed the line to take the lead only minutes from the full-time whistle and held strong to keep the Rats from fighting back. The win sees the Students maintain second place on the ladder.

Sydney University 20 (Tim Davidson, Jock Merriman tries; Byron Hodge 2 cons, 2 pens) d Warringah 15 (David Feltscheer, Josh Holmes tries; David Harvey con, pen) at Pittwater Rugby Park. Referee William Houston.

Penrith v Southern Districts

The third-placed Rebels were just too strong for a slow-moving Penrith side, running in nine tries with wing Alex Gibbon crossing the four times and Paul Asquith and Lopeti Timani both adding doubles. The Rebels took control of the game from the kick off, giving the Emus few try-scoring chances, with their six points coming from two penalties from rookie fullback Lachlan Fox.

Southern Districts 58 (Paul Asquith 2, Lopeti Timani 2, Alex Gibbon 4, Luke Smart tries; Rohan Saifoloi 5 cons, pen) d Penrith 6 (Lachlan Fox 2 pens) at Nepean Rugby Park. Referee Michael Hogan.