9 October 2006
Graham Croker
Celebrating the 2006 Toohey New Cup as the premier team in Sydney rugby union was a short-lived affair for a host of Sydney University players.
Number eight David Lyons, flanker Phil Waugh and second-rowers Daniel Vickerman and Al Campbell entered the Wallaby training camp to prepare for the Spring tour of Europe. Before joining the Wallabies, Lyons continued his good form since returning from a prolonged injury lay-off, by captaining the NSW Waratahs in the short Australian Provincial Championship. The four will jet off with the 37-man Wallaby squad later this month.
Meanwhile, 10 Sydney University players were selected in the 30-man NSW Waratahs Development squad which has just completed a four-match tour of the British Isles. Will Caldwell, Tom Egan, Daniel, Halangahu, David Haydon, Ed Jenkins, Daniel Kelly Jnr, Dean Mumm, Nathan Sievert, Nigel Staniforth and Josh Weeks were selected in the initial touring party. Backrower Tim Davidson and prop Laurie Weeks flown in to join the squad when number eight Pelea Afu, prop Ofa Fainga'anuku and second-rower Egan were injured early on the tour.
Egan suffered an ankle injury during the captain’s run, after being named at number eight for the tour opener against Saracens A at St Albans. X-Rays revealed a fracture to his right ankle, as well as another bone chip at the back of the joint.
“It’s a blow to be out of the tour, especially as I’d just come back from a knee injury,” said Egan, who returned to Sydney to have surgery to repair the damage.
The Development squad opened the tour with a 39-7 win over Saracens, lost 24-6 to Northampton Wanderers and 13-7 to Ulster, before ending the tour with a 20-17 win over Leinster. Mumm scored one of the five tries against Saracens, while Halangahu landed four conversions, two penalty goals and a drop goal against Saracens, and conversions against Ulster and Leinster.
National Competition
On the home-front, Sydney University joined Randwick and Eastern Suburbs in voting against a move by the Australian Rugby Union and the New South Wales Rugby Union to run a National Competition (previously called the National Club Competition) in 2007 under the guidelines provided.
SUFC president, David Mortimer, says the club’s vote was on the principle that SUFC does not believe that the ARU adequately researched the impact of the introduction of the competition, specifically on Club rugby.
“Having said that, we will now commit our energy to moving forward and accepting the umpire's decision, Mr Mortimer says. “Our first priority is to ensure that the stakeholders of Sydney University Rugby - the players, the coaches, the sponsors, the volunteers, the supporters and so on, are taken care of.
“We need to bed down next season's competition, with the present plan being for the First Grade competition to run from March 31 to August 4. This will continue to be the Tooheys New Cup Competition. This competition includes an invitation to Illawarra, Central Coast and Canberra Vikings to participate with First Grade and Under 19 Colts teams.”
Mr Mortimer says the Shute Shield competition will follow the national competition. “In terms of timing, it will run parallel to the lower Grades and Colts,” he says, with all to culminate on the same weekend, which is a positive step.
“The Shute Shield competition might be a round robin of two groups of the Sydney Premiership Clubs with the winners of each group playing a grand final on September 15. This is yet to be finalised. In fact, quite a bit needs to be finalised.”
Mr Mortimer says there is much work to be done at National Competition level to ensure that our players, coaches and administrators, who wish to participate, are given the absolute best opportunity to do so. “For this to happen, we need to continue to have a strong, vibrant Club,” he says. “I and the executive committee are absolutely committed to that.”