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Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Queensland will head into Round 3 of the this weekend (22-23 September) at the determined to reclaim top spot in the standings.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ took a bronze medal at , following a convincing 29-5 win over Bond University.

The third placing saw Team Â鶹ÊÓƵ relinquish its series lead to eventual round winners Macquarie University, who defeated Â鶹ÊÓƵ 26-19 in the semi-finals.

Coach Reg Tayler said his squad is learning from its mistakes.

“We’ve had a couple of off-moments in the last two tournaments and they’ve resulted in losses,’ Tayler said.

“But the follow-up game is normally a very strong performance, so there are always learnings from losses.”

“I was really impressed with how we bounced back in the third-place playoff and how we dominated it.”

Tayler has been forced to make several changes to the squad for Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s home event.

Captain Jannicke lJdens, Sarafina Vosuqa and Haj Mosby have been sidelined with injury.

Katie Muscat has been named in a 13-player squad, while Gemma Hauck and Shenae Ciesiolka return after the pair were late withdrawals in Canberra.

Erica Fowler – one of four Â鶹ÊÓƵ students – has also been recalled after missing the second leg of the series.

The Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Sciences (Honours) student said the team would need to lift its game to claim a second-consecutive home tournament win.

“The competition has improved with the depth and the talent – there are some very strong squads,” Fowler said.

“The feedback from Canberra was about being accountable for our mistakes, but also making sure our focus is on our defence because that’s one of our strongest points.

“I’ve been involved in Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rugby for a few years now, so to be able to represent my University on home soil in such a high-level tournament always means a lot.”

The , hosted by the , is expected to draw a large crowd, with Uni 7s matches (Athletics Centre – Field 7) taking place from 9am-4:30pm on Saturday, and 9am-3:30pm on Sunday.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ will play pool games against Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Melbourne (9:40am), University of New England (11:40am), University of Tasmania (2pm), and Griffith University (4pm) on Saturday.

Tayler said his team was looking forward to playing on home soil.

 “A lot of these girls are Â鶹ÊÓƵ students and they’re going to have some support whether it’s through the colleges or their parents,” he said.

“Everyone is really excited.

“We won last year at Â鶹ÊÓƵ and we want to make sure we win again and put on a good performance.”

All Aon Uni 7s Series matches will be streamed live via , and  page.

Highlights of the event will also be broadcast on Fox Sports in late 2018.

The opening round of the inaugural competition will also take place on Saturday (Fields 7 & 6), as well as the annual Emanuel 7s (Field 8) tournament – featuring men’s and women’s teams from Â鶹ÊÓƵ Colleges.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Queensland – Aon Uni7s Series team (Round 3):

 Marioulla Belessis (co-captain) (Bachelor of Education – Primary)

Shenae Ciesiolka

Terri-Anne Egan

Erica Fowler (Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Sciences – Honours)

Georgia Hannaway

Gemma Hauck

Samantha Hopkin

Grace Kaihau

Pleuni Kievit

Katie Muscat (Bachelor of Physiotherapy – Honours)

Mackenzie Sadler (co-captain)

Bodil Van Wijnbergen

Meg Gemmell (13th player) (Bachelor of Engineering – Honours)

2018 Aon Uni 7s Series – Round 2 Results

Series Standings

1) Macquarie University (38 points)

2) Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Queensland (36)

3) Griffith University (34)

4) University of Canberra (24)

5) Bond University (20)

6) University of Tasmania (18)

7) Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Sydney (18)

8) University of New England (14)

9) Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Adelaide (14)

10) Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Melbourne (4)

Series Fixtures

Round 3 – Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Queensland, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sport Athletics Centre (September 22-23)

Round 4 – Bond University, Gold Coast (October 6-7)

Round 5 – Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Adelaide, Adelaide (October 20-21)

Media: Jamie Mitchell, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Sport, JamieM@uqsport.com.au, 0423 785 752; Reg Tayler, Â鶹ÊÓƵ Rugby Football Club, regtayler@uqrugbyclub.com, 0407 302 911.