A Saturday morning captains run has spurred Uni on to a crucial Illawarra Rugby Union victory over Shoalhaven on Saturday.
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Desperate to snap a two-game losing streak and avoid dropping out of the top four, the Bulls turned to unconventional measures in their preparation for the clash.
And those measures worked a treat.
Despite missing their five best players to representative duties, Uni turned on an outstanding attacking performance to claim a 41-31 victory.
“We had to win today [Saturday],” Uni coach Dion Miller said. “To be honest you have to question whether you could against Shoalhaven after their performance last week.
“It’s so good to get the win, all the boys are so happy. We’ve been building towards this, we had a little secret training session this morning to prepare properly and we’ve had team meetings just to try and get it right, it’s good to get that win.”
While Uni claimed a 10-point win, they started the match on the back foot, with Shoalhaven crossing in the opening 10 minutes of the game.
From there, the Bulls largely controlled proceedings, with Shoalhaven’s struggles at the scrum and lineout preventing the side from building any pressure.
Uni stepped up the intensity midway through the first half, crossing for three tries in 15 minutes to open up a 12-point gap at the break.
The Bulls ground their opponents down in the second half through wave after wave of expansive attacking play, with the forwards laying a platform for five-eighth Donovan Nepia to steer the team around the park.
The Bulls have been forced to play through a disjointed month, with NSW Country representatives missing games. In other games, Shamrocks continued their resurgence with a 13-12 upset win over Bowral, Vikings defeated Camden 53-19, Kiama claimed a tight 14-12 victory over Tech and Avondale made it 10-in a row with a 65-15 defeat of Campbelltown.