Just perfect but Macquarie give UQ a fright

Fri, Sep 29, 2017, 11:30 PM
AAP
by AAP
In the end, no one really came close, as UQ remained undefeated to take out the Bond University leg of the Uni 7s. The side won 20 games in a row to take out the inaugural series.

In the end it was 20 starts for 20 wins as Uni of Queensland won their fourth straight Aon Uni 7s series tournament on the Gold Coast on Saturday.

But it was a tight run affair with the Macquarie Uni Sydney Rays pushing UQ all the way. Bond Uni managed to deny the big improvers Uni of Tasmania in the bronze medal game.

 

1.00pm - Macquarie Uni 10 Uni of Queensland 12

The perfect season has been run and won after Uni of Queensland defeated Macquarie Uni Sydney Rays 12-10 in the gold medal match at the Aon Uni 7s series on the Gold Coast.

The Rays gave it one hell of a crack and will learn from this experience but UQ have been the outstanding team of this inaugural series.

They won 20 straight games throughout the four tournaments and they celebrated hard after the final was finished.

Emilee Cherry, Emma Sykes and Lily Dick were great for UQ and it was that experience that got them home in sometimes trying circumstances.


The first half was a see-sawing affair with the Rays grabbing the first try of the game after a scramble on the try line.

That made the score 5-0 but UQ weren’t to be outdone and their “big dogs” in Cherry and Dick were able to combine to score.

Sykes converted to give UQ a 7-5 lead but the Rays weren’t to be outdone.

From the restart the ball was moved by the Rays to the right edge where Chloe Dalton was able to outrun her Aussie teammate Sykes to score.

The score was 10-7 to the Rays at the break, but UQ's Jannicke Ijdens scored the wining try when she crashed over after some nice work from Cherry late in the second half.

Chloe Dalton get away from Emma Sykes on her way to scoring a try.  Photo: Getty Images

12.40pm - Uni of Tasmania 12 Bond University 12

Bond University have taken out the bronze medal in their home tournament with a thrilling 12-all draw with Uni of Tasmania on Day Two of the Gold Coast.

Bond were leading 12-7 as time finished but Lauren Murty from Uni of Tasmania managed to cross for a vital try.

But the conversion attempt from Nicole Beck went wide and with Bond scoring first they grabbed the medal.

The first half was a very even affair with UTAS showing some skills with the ball in hand and Bond looking good on the counter attack.

That was how the first try of the game came about with Bond forcing a turnover and moving it out to left edge where Steph Rutherford scooted close to 80 metres to score.

UTAS weren’t to be outdone and they were able to get the ball into the hands of their playmakers and runners in Kiki Morgan and the ever reliable Beck.

Lauren Murty was superb for the University of Tasmania on the Gold Coast. Photo: Getty Images

12.20pm - Griffith University 36 Uni of Adelaide 7

Griffith University have finished in fifth place in the final tournament of the Aon Uni 7s series on the Gold Coast with a 36-7 win over Uni of Adelaide.

The foundation of the win was laid in the first half when they scooted to a 17-7 lead and then pretty much sealed the victory with a try to Ivania Wong shortly after the break.

Griffith came into Day Two here on the Gold Coast disappointed with their efforts at this tournament and they really hit back.

First up it was a 27-0 win over Uni of New England in the first game on the second day and then this performance.

Uni of Adelaide had their moments in this game but the Griffith defence and attacking structure was a bit too much for the Romas to cope with.

12.00pm - Uni of New England 24 Uni of Canberra 15

Uni of New England have grabbed seventh place in the Gold Coast leg of the Uni 7s series with a 24-15 win over Uni of Canberra.

They scored four tries in a bright performance that featured some great tries and good defence.

The pick of these was probably the nicely constructed five pointer from Kearni Churchland after a great offload from Alicia Quirk..

Uni of Canberra were best served by their Aussie Sevens reps in Cassie Staples and Sharni Williams who constantly made ground up the middle of the field with ball in hand. She scored two tries win the second half.

Uni of New England’s Quirk was a great organiser and laid on at least two of the winner’s tries.

Darcy Read opened the scoring for UC in this game in the first minute but from then on it was pretty much all Uni of New England.

 
11.00am - Uni of Queensland 24 Bond University 0

Uni of Queensland have kept their winning run alive in the Aon Uni 7s series with a 24-0 win over Bond University in the semi-final showdown on Day Two.

But they would be far from happy with that sometimes scrappy performance as they head into the gold medal match against Macquarie Uni later on Saturday.

The first half was a belligerent and spoiling affair with the only bight spot being the try and conversion from Erica Flower that gave the 7-0 lead at the break to the Red Heavies.

The second stanza was a different matter with UQ hitting their straps after some tough talking at oranges.

Emily Cherry scored the first and second try of the second half and was a threat throughout the match and will be a player to watch in the final.

Charlotte Caslick wasn’t able to have the same effect as Cherry but the Bond women tried hard throughout.

10.40am - Uni of Tasmania 0 Macquarie Uni 40

 Macquarie Uni are through to the gold medal match here on the Gold Coast with some style with a thumping 40-0 win over Uni of Tasmania.

The Rays started the match with enormous intent and had bounced out to a 21-0 lead by halftime with Katie Harrison grabbing a double and Dom du Toit also getting on the scoresheet.

Rays skipper Emily Chancellor was another to impress playing hard on the ball and also running with great vigour.

What impressed most about the Rays effort was their defence which held well throughout and tracked the UTAS attacking threats well.

Uni of Tasmania played much of the first 10 minutes without the ball but when the turnovers came the Rays were direct and clinical.

10.20am - Uni of Canberra 22 Uni of Adelaide 26

 Uni of Adelaide will play off for fifth place in the Uni 7s series on the Gold Coast after they defeated Uni of Canberra 26-22 in the second game on Day Two.

Aussie squad member Vani Pelite was the key to the Adelaide victory scoring two tries and doing numerous other great things around the field.

This was an absolute cracker of a game with the lead changing numerous times throughout and it wasn’t until the dying seconds that the result was confirmed when Pelite grabbed a steal and kicked the ball out to finish the game.

Lots of heroes for Uni of Canberra but none better than Cassie Staples and Sharni Williams.

10.00am - Uni of New England 0 Griffith University 27

Griffith University went some of the way to making up for a disappointing Day One when they defeated Uni of New England 27-0 in the first game of Day Two.

Griffith missed out on finishing in the top four and the medal games and were keen to show some of their power and skills first up.

They coped well with the heat and wind at Bond University and scored tries through Wallaroo Sam Treherne and Ivania Wong in the first stanza.

It was that duo that put the game beyond doubt in the second half with tries and some clever running.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic though, and Uni of New England were creative but the weight of possession told in the end.

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