Late tries from Queensland Reds squad duo Tom Robinson and hooker Zac Hough powered University of Queensland to a key 40-31 victory over Bond University in the Sumo Energy Hospital Cup.
Saturday's match had been delicately balanced at 26-all at St Lucia before the decisive strikes.
The turning point came when the Red Heavies diffused the Bull Sharks' rolling maul five metres out from the tryline to force a scrum late in the second half.
Influential flyhalf Tiarnan Neville said post-game that stronger finishes was a point of emphasis in the team's mid-season review.
“Halfway through the season, we took a look at the stats and saw that we struggled to finish games. That was our key thing going into this game, and I think it showed,” Neville said.
Flanker Robinson and hooker Hough played instrumental roles in UQ’s opening try.
After Bond enjoyed sustained early territory, which resulted in a try out wide for hooker Nik Mitchell, UQ started to click into gear.
After working through several phases in midfield, it was Robinson and Hough who had robust, hard-hitting carries. This provided a perfect platform for centre Reece Tapine to drive over the line.
Scores were tied 5-5 after 18 minutes.
The momentum continued for UQ as Neville dashed past defenders and converted his own try to nudge the home side ahead 12-5.
Neville added: “There was a big emphasis on the first and last 20 minutes of matches in our review”.
UQ won the first 20 minutes, 12-5 and the last 20, 14-5, which turned out to be the difference by the final whistle.
The Bull Sharks fought hard to deny UQ their third consecutive try.
Soon after, a scrum five metres out provided the platform for Bond flyhalf Luke Depiazzi to lay a ball underneath for powerful centre William Rua to rampage over.
Depiazzi, who went three-from-five from the tee on the day, knocked over the extras to provide a 12-all scoreline at the break.
It was Bond who was the aggressor to start the second half.
Fullback Dion Samuela put in a clever kick in behind for in-form winger Deon Evans-Ao. It eventually led to an astute offload for forward Kobe Walters to plunge over.
After scoring one in the first half, it was flyhalf Neville setting up one in the second.
Following a loose set piece, it was Neville picking up the scraps to find open pastures. He delivered the goods for his partner in crime, halfback Flynn McDermott, to race over. The conversion levelled the scores again at 19-all.
Bond again looked dangerous out wide with winger Christopher Humphris exercising his speed to score in the corner.
From there, it was UQ racking up three of the last four to make the match theirs.
Centre Navitalai Tiko proved too difficult to stop close to the line, running a strong inside shoulder line. Once converted by Neville, scores were even again at 26-all.
Following the two late tries to put UQ up 40-26, Depiazzi had a nice moment for Bond. The flyhalf ran all of 60m for the final try.
In other matches, leaders Brothers handled Souths 34-22, Easts and Wests played out a 38-all draw and Norths kept hold of third place by beating Sunnybank 30-21.
