The Campbelltown Harlequins clash with Bowral Blacks on Saturday was preceded by a solemn ceremony before the start of play in both first and second grade.
A minute’s silence was observed for the passing of Kelly Meafua, whose brother plays in first grade for the Quins. Kelly sadly passed away earlier this month.
Once the footy was on, the home side cruised to a 31-10 victory in second grade.
But it was a much tougher assignment in the top grade for the Harlequins, who have yet to open their account in the 2022 Illawarra premiership.
But it wasn’t just Bowral that presented a strong challenge to the home side: the playing field of Campbelltown Showground was muddy and far from ideal for running rugby.
As a result, neither team were able to gain momentum in the conditions, and in the end the 12-12 result was a fair reflection of the effort from both sides.
Bowral opened the scoring via a penalty conversion early in the game.
Harlequins responded to get on the scoreboard themselves before Bowral slotted two more penalty conversions.
The home side did have an opportunity win the match in the dying stages – with the clock running into overtime, and the score board locked at 12-12, the Harlequins were given one final chance with a penalty conversion.
But the conversion went wide and that was that.
The match saw the welcome return of Jack Mitchell for the Harlequins after an overseas stint.
Mitchell delivered a solid performance for the full length of the game and looks set to be an asset for the side going forward.
Another one to shine was Daniel Tu’ulau, who put on a top performance in consecutive games.
The Harlequins 2021 Hetoa award recipient, Aaron Teariki, was strong in the centres, leading the way in the backline’s go forward work rate.
Harlequins head to Kiama for their third match of the season this weekend.
IDRU ROUND 3 RESULTS – FIRST GRADE:
Vikings 19 def Kiama 15
University 17 def Camden 10
Tech Waratahs 29 def Avondale 7
Campbelltown Harlequins 12 drew with Bowral 12
Shoalhaven 50 def Shamrocks 0
SECOND GRADE:
University def Camden
Camden def University
Tech Waratahs 7 def Avondale5
Campbelltown Harlequins 31 def Bowral 10
Shamrocks 17 def Shoalhaven 12
