Australian Club Championships
Brothers Rugby Club
Bond Bull Sharks 19 drew with Sydney University 19
The two clubs will share the Sukkar Cup.
The siren sounds in a grand final.
The scores are tied at 19-19. Seventy minutes of rugby could not produce a winner.
But the response from the coaches and players can still determine who truly wins or loses from this clash.
The Bull Sharks are so accustomed to winning grand finals that anything less might seem like failure. But in reality, only teams that have reached the pinnacle of sport truly understand how hard it is to stay there.
They are proud of the result but disappointed in the performance.
Coach Lawrence Faifua admits his emotions swung back and forth in the days following the game. Here, he talks us through the Bull Sharks’ fifth grand final in the past three years.
“It is a tough one, really tough, because we had the opportunity to win the game,” Faifua said.
“The players were disappointed that we drew, but it was from what could we have done differently—both within the game and in our preparation?
“We’ve since come together to review the game, and they want to work harder, lift the intensity, and increase the level of contact.
“They want to get better.
“I think we’re in for a big season.”
How it unfolded
It was a terrible start for the Bull Sharks. For the opening 25 minutes, Sydney Uni camped in their attacking 22m, piling on 12 points before Bond finally got into the game.
The Bull Sharks didn’t hit the front until the second half when halfback Evie Sampson dashed over off a Mel Wilks pop pass to take the lead at 14-12.
Premiership hero Charlize Ratu—no stranger to scoring tries in grand finals—delivered again with a blistering 80m run, after Wilks found her in space deep in Bond’s defensive quarter. The lead stretched to 19-12.
Sydney Uni struck back to level the game at 19-19 before the Bull Sharks twice opted against taking penalty shots, instead backing themselves to find a match-winning try.
The standout
“TJ Murray is 15 years old, and she was probably our best player,” Faifua said.
“I think the game would have been quite different if she hadn’t been playing.
“She always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Whether they had a line break or an overlap, she made the right defensive decision.
“Her understanding of the game is very advanced for such a young kid.”
What made you happy?
“It was the amount of defence they did. We got slapped in the face early in the game, and we had to climb off the canvas,” he said.
“Grace Baker and Elisha Godsiff were incredible.
“I gave them a rev-up at halftime because we had gone away from everything we had prepared for. But in the second half, despite the scoreboard, we were able to relax, play our style of rugby, and trust in our game plan.”
The turning point
“I did the review, and I couldn’t get over the amount of defence we did.
“At the start of the second half, we defended for eight minutes on our line. The scramble defence was crazy.
“We managed to win the ball back and clear it. From there, we played Bond ball and scored under the posts. You can’t coach that.”
What makes the Bull Sharks so special?
“There’s a core group that has been here from the very start. They’ve built a resilience that has become the benchmark.
“We’ve always been a smaller group. I remember those early years when we’d get smacked around, but the girls would always get up and fight on.
“This is a side that knows how to battle in the trenches. They’ve taught themselves how to do that, and it’s now part of our DNA. New players arrive, and they just adopt that same mentality.”