The University of Queensland’s Aon Uni 7s Series tournament winning streak has come to an end following a third placing in Round 2 in Canberra.
Team UQ – winners of every Uni 7s tournament dating back to 2017 – failed to qualify for the gold medal match after losing to eventual winners Macquarie University (26-19) in the semi-finals.
The defeat was UQ’s second of the weekend, after a 15-14 loss to Bond University in the pool stages of the tournament.
The two Queensland universities met again in the third place playoff, with UQ prevailing 29-5 on the back of two tries to Pleuni Kievit.
The Holland international led UQ’s scoring over the two-day competition, crossing for a total of eight tries.
Haj Mosby scored six tries across UQ’s six games, adding to her series tally of eleven.
Team UQ coach Reg Tayler said his side took plenty of positives away from the event.
"Canberra was a disappointing outcome for our team; however we were happy as a unit to finish well and gain some momentum for our home tournament,” Tayler said.
“We had a few things go against us both on and off the field and will be looking to bounce back in the next round."
Macquarie won the tournament after beating Griffith University 26-0 in the gold medal match.
UQ’s bronze medal came following Pool A victories over University of New England (33-0), The University of Sydney (36-10) and tournament hosts, University of Canberra (14-7).
UQ sits second on the series ladder entering its home round, to be held at the UQ Sport Athletics Centre from 22-23 September.
"We are all really excited for our home tournament and can't wait to play in front of our home fans,” Tayler said.
“The girls will need the rugby and University community to come out and support us as we look to regain the lead at UQ."
The free event, hosted by the UQ Rugby Club, will also feature the annual Emanuel 7s tournament – including men’s and women’s teams from UQ Colleges – as well as a Queensland Premier Rugby 7s carnival.
2018 Aon Uni 7s Series – Round 2 Results
Pool A:
UQ dft. University of New England (33-0)
UQ dft. The University of Sydney (36-10)
UQ dft. University of Canberra (14-7)
Bond University dft. UQ (15-14)
Semi Final:
Macquarie University dft. UQ (26-19)
Bronze Medal Match:
UQ dft. Bond University (29-5)
Series Standings
1) Macquarie University (38 points)
2) The University of Queensland (36)
3) Griffith University (34)
4) University of Canberra (24)
5) Bond University (20)
6) University of Tasmania (18)
7) The University of Sydney (18)
8) University of New England (14)
9) The University of Adelaide (14)
10) The University of Melbourne (4)
Series Fixtures
Round 3 – The University of Queensland, UQ Sport Athletics Centre (September 22-23)
Round 4 – Bond University, Gold Coast (October 6-7)
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.
