Season of Firsts

IT WAS THE BEST SEASON YET FOR BOND RUGBY AND THE BEGINNING OF GREATER THINGS TO COME AS THE WOMEN EXCELLED IN THEIR INAUGURAL SEASON AND THE MEN TOOK HOME THE BRAILSFORD-BROWN CUP.

They were the trailblazers who will go down in history as Bond University’s first women’s 15s rugby team and the inaugural Bull Sharks made an immediate impact. Stacked with young players more accustomed to the seven-a-side code, the Bull Sharks played with youthful exuberance and adventure in their foray in the inaugural Queensland Premier Women’s competition in 2020. They were never overawed and rarely outmatched, finishing third in the regular season to make the finals in their first campaign. Australian Wallaroos squad member and Bull Sharks flanker Lucy Lockhart says it was refreshing to play an expansive brand of rugby.

Bull Sharks flanker Lucy Lockhart.

“A lot of our girls are Sevens players. This is the first year they’ve played 15s so they have transitioned to a new style,” Ms Lockhart says. “Instead of playing the classic straightdown-the-middle style, we try to evade the bigger forwards by using our footwork, our ball skills and our passing distance. This style will hopefully change women’s rugby, how we play it and possibly how Australia plays it too.”

One of the faces of the campaign was Bachelor of Sport Management student Caitlyn Costello, a former representative touch football player and star of Bond’s AON Sevens team.

“It was such a great opportunity, great for women in rugby and particularly our younger girls coming through the squad,” Ms Costello says. “We want to build a women’s program for the long haul. “We are in a unique position that we were the first women’s 15s team to play for Bond University and we certainly didn’t take that lightly. We are very lucky to have girls come from Sevens and touch backgrounds, so the ball skills are definitely there, the conditioning and speed is there. It is just understanding the 15s game. Our coaching staff have been great.”

With such a strong showing in their first season, the Bull Sharks quickly established themselves as one of the powers of the women’s game. But the women were just one part of a season that was the most successful yet for Rugby. The club has established a strong culture and a new identity that has formed the launchpad to make a tangible impact across all grades in the coming years.

Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford and Bruce Brown.

The men’s senior team made the preliminary finals and defeated every other club including Premiers Easts Tigers – scoring more tries and making more linebreaks than any other team in the Queensland Premier Rugby competition. It was also the first year the Brailsford-Brown Varsity Cup was awarded – and the Bull Sharks won it at The Canal in front of a raucous crowd. The cup is contested by Bond University and Queensland University first grade sides and is named after Bond Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford and former UQ Rugby Football Club President and Queensland and Wallaby front rower Bruce Brown. The Bull Sharks Colts side fell agonisingly short of a grand final berth after another stellar season, while Bond also introduced a third-grade side.

There was a special moment when John Eales Rugby Excellence Scholarship students and brothers Angus and Wilson Blyth played their first ever game together in the crucial Brailsford-Brown Varsity Cup match. While Angus Blyth had a breakout season for the Queensland Reds culminating in a Super Rugby Grand Final berth, younger brother Wilson Blyth was establishing himself in Bond’s engine room. Both Blyth brothers study a Bachelor of Commerce.

Bond University Rugby President, Dr Manny Pohl credits the COVID-19 lockdown for some of the season’s successes.

“Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19 to the playing season, the lockdown had a positive impact on our club culture where everyone pulled together to help those who were experiencing mental and financial stress,” Dr Pohl says. In many ways this has been a breakout season for our club and we hope that our finals performances of 2020 are the building blocks for premierships in 2021 and beyond.”

Bond University Executive Director Sport Garry Nucifora says the rugby program’s success mirrored that of the AFL and netball programs which reached semi-finals with either men’s or women’s teams.

It was such a great opportunity, great for women in rugby and particularly our younger girls coming through the squad.

“This is our annual performance objective: to play in the big games at the end of each season every year,” Mr Nucifora says. “From that, consistent presence will flow the Grand Final appearances and premierships on which we can build a reputation of success and improvement. It is all part of the strategic, sustainable long-term plan for Bond Sport.

Bond University’s Vice President Engagement, Catherine Marks paid tribute to benefactors such as Terry Jackman AM and the Phoenix Club members who made the season a success.

“It has been a remarkable year for the Bond Rugby Club in the most extraordinary of circumstances and we want to personally thank all those who have contributed and supported the mighty Bull Sharks this season,” Ms Marks says.

“The Club had some remarkable results on the field but it would not have been possible without the continued support of our valued sponsors. Together we have an unbreakable bond.”