Firstly congratulations to UUC who were crowned Q2 champions last week, playing some great rugby on the way and suffering only one defeat all season. The fact that this solitary defeat was against Grosvenor gave some added spice to this end of season fixture.
Grosvenor started strongly and scored a pushover try following a five metre scrum with No.8 Andrew Kelly getting the touch down. Outhalf Matty Little added two penalties to extend the lead to 11 points before the students scored an unconverted try following a quickly tapped penalty. Little struck back with another penalty. Half-time 14-5.
The students threw the kitchen sink at Grosvenor in attack at the start of the second half and scored a great try following some neat handling in the backs. 14-10. However Grosvenor’s pack grew in the ascendency and without the ball the students could not close the gap. Grosvenor were reduced to 14 men for the last quarter following injury to winger Andrew Robinson. Some indiscipline then crept into the student ranks and the impressive Matty Little punished them with two more penalties to extend Grosvenor’s lead to 10 points to secure the victory and calm President Eddie Briggs’ nerves. Final score 20-10.
A cracking match and a great advert for club rugby in the qualifying leagues. Grosvenor have ended their season on a high with 11 consecutive league victories and have a sound platform to build on for next year. Best wishes to UUC who will surely shake things up in Qualifying 1 next season with their expansive style of play.
