The University of Queensland has finished fourth in Round 4 of the Aon Uni 7s Series, hosted by Bond University.
Team UQ started strongly, winning its first three pool matches against The University of Adelaide (12-5), The University of Melbourne (29-0) and Macquarie University (19-12), before a shock loss to University of New England (24-17) derailed UQ’s quest for gold.
Eventual tournament winners Griffith University then defeated UQ 33-5 in the semi-finals, before Macquarie stormed to a 24-0 victory in the bronze medal match.
UQ coach Reg Tayler said the squad was saddened that its streak of winning a medal at every Uni 7s round since 2017 had come to an end.
“We were disappointing in the way we performed at Bond over the weekend,” Tayler said.
“There were some patches of good play but way too many mistakes and uncharacteristic discipline issues.”
UQ now faces an uphill battle to win back-to-back Uni 7s championships at the final round of the competition in Adelaide (20-21 October).
UQ (68 points) trails Griffith University (74) and Macquarie University (70) on the ladder.
A second place result or better will see Griffith claim its maiden title.
Tayler said his squad will do all in its power to claim maximum points from the event.
“The positive part of having a bad tournament is that we get to head to Adelaide in two weeks and make up for it,” he said.
“We’re really keen to show our supporters that we can be better.”
All Aon Uni 7s Series matches will be streamed live via rugby.com.au, and UniSport Australia’s Facebook page.
2018 Aon Uni 7s Series – Round 4 Results
Pool B:
UQ dft. The University of Adelaide (12-5)
UQ dft. The University of Melbourne (29-0)
UQ dft. Macquarie University (19-12)
University of New England dft. UQ (24-17)
Semi-Final:
Griffith University dft. UQ (33-5)
Bronze Medal Match:
Macquarie University dft. UQ (24-0)
Series Standings
1) Griffith University (74 points)
2) Macquarie University (70)
3) The University of Queensland (68)
4) The University of Sydney (50)
5) University of Canberra (40)
6) University of New England (36)
7) University of Tasmania (32)
8) The University of Adelaide (32)
9) Bond University (30)
10) The University of Melbourne (8)
Series Fixtures
Round 5 – The University of Adelaide, Adelaide (October 20-21)
Media: Jamie Mitchell, UQ Sport, JamieM@uqsport.com.au, 0423 785 752; Reg Tayler, UQ Rugby Football Club, regtayler@uqrugbyclub.com, 0407 302 911.