Trailing Bowral 30-17 with 15 minutes remaining, the Bulls mounted a furious fight-back to try and snatch victory at the death.

Tries to William Wood and Lachlan Conyers narrowed the gap to one with less than five minutes remaining, however Uni could not get close enough to secure the match-winning score, with Bowral’s defence holding firm.

The loss consigns Uni to a clash with Vikings after they overpowered Campbelltown 73-21 to secure fourth-place on the ladder.  

“We just couldn’t keep up with Bowral at the beginning, they were outplaying us for most of the game,” University coach Dion Miller said. 

“We were pretty untidy in the first half, we looked terrible actually. But in the second half we played tighter, got our structure back and seemed to find those tries. I’m proud of the way we finished that game.”

With second position on the ladder on the line, there was plenty at stake and, Uni’s slow start aside, both teams combined to produce a high-quality spectacle.

The Bulls were left to rue a disappointing first half, falling behind 17-nil after conceding three tries in the opening half hour.

A try in the final play of the half and a second shortly after the break put Uni back in the game, but they were forced to spend the match chasing their opponents. 

Each time the Bulls edged closer, Bowral did just enough to move clear. A penalty goal with just under 20 minutes to go would ultimately prove the deciding moment.

“We got back to our structures in the second half and started to claw them back. But we gave away a couple of little penalties here and there and that ended up costing us the game.

“We were chasing Bowral all day from the kickoff. We started really flat and took too long to recover, when we did and finally got it all happening, we got there, but not quite ‘there’.”

While Uni struggled through the opening exchanges, Bowral were on song from the beginning. Their performance may have dipped slightly as the game wore on, but coach Gene Fairbanks was proud of the way his men fought hard in the dying minutes to hold off the charging Bulls.

The victory secures Bowral second position on the ladder and a major semi-final date with Avondale in Bowral next Saturday afternoon. 

“I’m very pleased we got the victory, it was pretty stressful at the end,” Fairbanks said. “Uni played some very good football late.

“To be able to defend like we did and shift that momentum back at the end was pleasing. Uni had all the momentum in the second half, but we were still able to get away with the win.”

In other games, Avondale secured a second-straight minor premiership with a 52-0 win over Kiama. Shamrocks finals charge fell short despite a 24-14 victory over Tech and Shoalhaven finished their season with a 51-22 defeat of Camden. 

Major semi-final: Saturday September 1: AVONDALE V BOWRAL at Eridge Park

Minor semi-final: Sunday September 2: UNIVERSITY v VIKINGS at Viking Rugby Ground