UQ aims for Uni 7s improvement following gold medal
[post_published]
The University of Queensland is gunning for back-to-back tournament wins ahead of this weekend’s second Aon Uni 7s Series round on the Gold Coast (28-29 September).
UQ won all its games at the opening event at the UQ Sport Athletics Centre, overcoming competition newcomers University of Technology Sydney (21-17) to claim the first gold medal of the series.
Team UQ coach Reg Tayler has selected Melita Hicks to make her Uni 7s debut at Bond University, with Shenae Ciesiolka also included in UQ’s 12-player squad.
UQ Bachelor of Physiotherapy student Katie Muscat will miss the round due to a hand injury.
Tayler said UQ was focussed on continuing its development after a strong start to the season.
“We are looking to improve on the areas we see fit and to step up our performance to the next level,” Tayler said.
“We will continue to go about our business, and focus on what we need to do for this round.
“Each tournament will get harder as the other teams study us, so we will have to keep improving if we want to keep winning.”
Utility Isabella Nasser said UQ had trained strongly in the lead-up to Round 2.
“We were pleased to go through our home tournament undefeated, and as a group we are committed to working hard and continuing to grow,” Nasser said.
“Our main focus has been maintaining our playing standards and not getting ahead of ourselves.
“For us it is about trusting the process, trusting each other and trusting our coaches and our preparation.”
Team UQ will play The University of Adelaide (9am), Bond University (11am), Griffith University (1:20pm), and University of New England (3:20pm) in pool matches on Saturday, with finals to follow on Sunday from 11am.
UQ’s opening game against Adelaide will mark vice-captain and Dutch International Jannicke Ijdens’ 50th Aon Uni 7s match.
All matches will be streamed live on the rugby.com.au website.
2019 Aon Uni 7s Series – Team UQ (Round 2)
Lori Cramer (captain)
Jannicke Ijdens (vice-captain)
Mackenzie Sadler (vice-captain)
Amy Brice
Shenae Ciesiolka
Georgia Hannaway
Melita Hicks
Pleuni Kievit
Haj Mosby
Isabella Nasser
Kaitlin Shave
Sidney Taylor
Series Standings
1) The University of Queensland (20 points)
2) University of Technology Sydney (18 points)
3) The University of Sydney (16 points)
4) Griffith University (14 points)
5) The University of Adelaide (12 points)
6) The University of Melbourne (10 points)
7) University of Canberra (8 points)
8) University of New England (6 points)
9) Bond University (4 points)
10) The University of Western Australia (2 points)
2019 Aon Uni 7s Series – Fixtures
Round 2 – Bond University, Gold Coast (28-29 September)
Round 3 – The University of Adelaide, Adelaide (12-13 October)
Round 4 – University of Canberra, Canberra (26-27 October)
Media: Jamie Mitchell, UQ Sport, JamieM@uqsport.com.au, 0423 785 752; Reg Tayler, UQ Rugby Football Club, regtayler@uqrugbyclub.com, 0407 302 911.
