GROUP Seven's Lauren Murty and her Sydney University side have won round three of the Aon Uni Sevens in Adelaide, beating series leaders the University of Queensland 19-5 and setting up a thrilling finish to the series in Canberra in a fortnight.
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An error from the kick-off from UQ handed the ball to Sydney Uni and they made the most of their early chances, Ili Batibasaga getting her team off to a great start when she broken through a pair of tackles just outside the 22 and raced away to score under the posts.
The bad news continued for UQ, with another error handing the ball back to Sydney again, before captain Lori Cramer was sin-binned for a high shot.
Emily Chancellor revelled in the extra space and dashed through a gap to add Sydney's second try, giving them a 14-nil lead they held to half-time.
Having played dry-weather football all weekend, the teams were forced to change their ways with the rain tumbling just before kick-off and making the pill slippery and Sydney adjusted well, holding the ball and using the big forward to advantage.
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UQ finally got on the board midway through the second term, with Pleuni Kievit playing some good eyes-up rugby, receiving the ball back from a lineout throw-in before racing away to score.
But time ran out for the competition leaders, with Sydney Uni snaring their first title of the season.
Despite the win, UQ's three trips to the finals in the opening three rounds means they hold a comprehensive lead heading into the final tournament in Canberra in a fortnight.
To win the series overall, Sydney or Griffith - level in second place on the ladder on 50 points - must win in Canberra and hope UQ fail to even make the top four.
Earlier, Griffith beat the University of Canberra (featuring Ulladulla's Lily Murdoch and Cambewarra's Aroha Spillane) 17-14 in the playoff for third to keep their series title defence alive.
In other finals, the University of Adelaide beat UTS to snare fifth place, Bond Uni finished seventh after beating UWA 24-19 and the University of Melbourne was ninth after a 17-12 victory over UNE (containing Rhiannon Byers).
Next round will be held in Canberra from October 26-27.
Ladder after round three: 1. University of Queensland (56), 2. Sydney University (50), 3. Griffith University (50), 4. University of Canberra (38), 5. UTS (36), 6. University of Adelaide (36), 7. Bond University (22), 8. University of Melbourne (18), 9. UWA (14) and 10. UNE (10).