In collaboration with the Welcome to Sydney program, Sydney Uni Sport & Fitness (SUSF) were proud to host nine international students for an afternoon of rugby at the world-class Sydney University Football Ground.
The first-year students, mainly from China, were given exclusive access to the inner-sanctum of the TAG Family Foundation Grandstand, a state-of-the-art facility which accomodates 1,100 spectators, a number of offices and an impressive two-level, high-performance strength and conditioning gym, named after its benefactor and rugby club stalwart, David Mortimer.
Throughout the tour, students were fully immersed in the game day experience, introduced to SUSF’s Physical Preparation Manager, Sam Pervan and watched as players ran through the tunnel and onto the field, ready for their Manly opposition.
Following some pre-game entertainment, the students took to their seats for a 3pm First Grade kick-off. Equipped with a footy feed and new supporter merchandise, our guests became part of the SUSF family as they witnessed lethal set piece scrums, spreading of the ball and tries coming in thick and fast. The strong performance resulted in a 45-13 defeat of the Manly Marlins and an impressive clean sweep Super Saturday victory across all grades for Uni.
SUSF staff present on the day, including Executive Director, Rob Smithies; Operations & Infrastructure Manager, Ed Smith; Elite Athlete Program Manager, Leonie Lum and Marketing & Communications Manager, Laura Hanlon, would like to sincerely thank the University of Sydney and Sydney University Football Club for working together on this initiative and hope that the power of sport in helping students navigate their new surroundings together shone through.
The feedback from students has been positive and SUSF hopes to be involved in future events via the Welcome to Sydney Program.
“This was my first time watching a rugby match. Thank you so much for holding this event! The food was good and the tour helped me know more about the school. And I also met some new friends! I really enjoyed it.” – Qiwen Gao, China
