Sydney University skipper Angus Allen advocated strongly for an eight-team club super series after today’s triumph in the Australian Club Championship.
Flanker Allen led Uni to a clearcut 45-19 win after the scores were locked at 19-all with 29 minutes to play against Brisbane premiers Wests.
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Much as the raucous home fans at Sci-Fleet Stadium did their best to urge more from the Bulldogs, it was the visiting Uni outfit which found a killer sting in the closing stages.
Four tries in the closing half hour settled the match and gave teenage backs Joey Fowler and Jullien Caillol the chance to show off their skills.
Flanker Mali Manukia and his rat’s tail were everywhere and lock Luke Radcliff’s workrate never slackened in the heat.
The significance of playing in a peak match between the Sydney and Brisbane premiers meant no less to Allen because he didn’t play in last year’s Shute Shield grand final.
“A fair few players stepped up from the lower grades and Colts and they know what the club is all about. We had Joey come in straight out of school and he’s learnt what the winning environment is like now,” Allen said.
“We were proud of representing the boys who got us here by winning the Shute Shield last year. They were with us and plenty got into the team chat before the game. (Premiership halfback) Henry Robertson, now at the Western Force, is a good mate and he just said ‘get after them’.”
Uni did just that with their first half command of territory. Irish recruit Rob Hedderman scored first for his new club in heat you’d rarely find in his home town of Cork.
By the time lock Zac Von Appen had speared over from close range to end the first half, Uni had scored the third of their seven tries for the afternoon for a 19-12 lead.
Ethan Dobbins has built a cult following at Wests for the very un-hooker-like skills he can whistle up. This time, it was his high-step out of two tackles down the grandstand sideline.
The Bulldogs kept the pressure up by taking a lineout when Von Appen was penalised for a lifting, dumping tackle on Wests halfback Moses Sorovi.
Dobbins surged over from the rolling maul off the lineout that followed, fullback Cooper Whiteside slotted the conversion and suddenly it was 19-all.
Narrabri product Fowler was playing in the Australian Under-18s and Schools XV late last year when at St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill.
His skills translated. Inside the final 10 minutes, he dabbed a perfect chip kick over the top which winger Eddy King seized for the try that sealed things.
Centre Caillol had his moment just minutes later with a neat double-pump pass for deception in midfield and backing up to receive the return pass for a try.
“We’ve spent a lot of time working on fitness and I think it showed in the closing stages,” delighted Sydney Uni coach Damien hill said.
“Joey and Jullien were both at school last year so for them to get this experience is terrific in a match that has real meaning for our club.”
It was Sydney Uni’s fourth Australian Club Championship success over the past decade and the beer tasted just as good as ever out of the Bernie Power Cup.
Each staging is a credit to all the work done by the host club.
Allen's first experience of the trophy had him thinking bigger.
“The Australian Club Championship is an incredible product. I’d like to see the top four Sydney and top four Brisbane clubs going at it in a competition after their respective grand finals,” he said.
“You play three or four games and then a final for the trophy.
“Club rugby is the heartbeat of rugby in Australia. There was a great Wests crowd of several thousand out for this and we got all we expected with the sledging during our warm-ups.
“Fans are so connected to their clubs. You can see 5000 and more at club games in Sydney. The game can make this Australian Club Championship even bigger.”
