It was a tight turnaround from the inaugural tournament in Adelaide (Kaurna) for the Uni 7s teams to meet in Newcastle (Awabakal) on 15 October 2022, kicking off tournament two of the 2022 Uni 7s Series.
Battling injuries and illnesses, the teams fought hard over the weekend to try to climb the ladder and gain points ahead of the final tournament of the series.
The University of Adelaide (AU Roma’s) welcomed Mackenzie Sadler, a former University of Queensland player and sister to teammate D’arcy Sadler, for their first tournament away from home. The Roma’s came close to notching a win against The University of Sydney (USYD) but finished the match 7-7 and a respectable 7th at the end of the tournament.
The University of Newcastle takes on the University of Canberra. Photo credit: Stewart Hazell
University of Canberra (UC) secured their first two wins in the series with strong wins against AU Roma’s and the University of Western Australia (UWA Maali) in the round games before facing off against (USYD) in a 5v6 playoff.
UC couldn’t beat a fast-finishing USYD to finish in 6th place with a 15-7 point loss to the NSW team. USYD had a tough start to the tournament but finished with a strong win over UC to finish 5th on the ladder and keep their top-3 hopes alive.
The University of Sydney run past The University of Newcastle. Photo credit: Stewart Hazell
Following on from their great tournament in Adelaide, UWA Maali was set to face a strong University of Newcastle (UON) team for the bronze final match.
The hosts UON came out greatly improved in their home-ground tournament, finishing in 4th place. Jessica Gentle was again a standout for the home side.
The team from the west were dominant in their final game, with an impressive 3 tries and a conversion winning 17-0 to round out the weekend in 3rd position. UWA Maali will be looking ahead to the third tournament in Canberra to seal a medal and a spot on the podium.
The gold final playoff to determine the tournament winners was between 1st seed Bond University (BOND) and 2nd seed The University Melbourne (MELB). Both teams were dominant throughout the tournament and looking to take the 20 points going into the final tournament in Canberra.
Bond University take on The University of Melbourne in the Gold final playoff. Photo credit: Stewart Hazell
MELB took an early lead over BOND with a try in the second minute of the match to Jade Te Aute. BOND were able to level scores thanks to a try from Amahli Hala, however MELB extended the lead just before half-time 12-5. BOND came back after half-time looking a different side and scored 3 tries in quick succession to finish winners 22-12 and lock themselves in the top position.
Final standings in tournament 2:
1. Bond University Bull Sharks
2. The University of Melbourne
3. University of Western Australia Maali
4. The University of Newcastle
5. The University of Sydney
6. University of Canberra
7. Adelaide University Roma’s
Total series points after tournament 2:
The final tournament of the Series will be held at the University of Canberra from 29-30 October 2022 with every game streamed live on UniSportTV.
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