Eagles up in epic encounter with Spirit

With Orange’s Endeavour Oval unplayable due to bad weather, NSW Country moved their match to Concord Oval, and overcame a determined Perth Spirit 48-24 in the first ever double header in NRC history. The win all but guarantees Country’s final position, while the Spirit may face a more challenging final’s route if Melbourne prevail tomorrow in Canberra.

The Match

Concord Oval was buzzing with a charming club rugby atmosphere as a crowd of well over 2,000 (my estimate) lined themselves up on the hill and on the main stand. The first half of the match was a seesawing affair, with the Eagles launching at blokes and having the Spirit pinned down on their five metre line three minutes in. The Spirit held out the ‘home’ side, then turned the tables quickly after Folau Fa’ainga was sent to the bin for a dangerous tackle. However, with the men from the west unable to capitalise, suddenly the Eagles clicked into gear and the floodgates opened with Jake Gordon and Reece Robertson capitalising to have the Eagles out to a 16-0 lead in the first 20 minutes.

The crowd was enjoying a riveting contest at scrum time, and the Spirit were rewarded when Ben Tapuai was able to find open space and get the Spirit on the board. The Eagles hit back straight away through Gordon but the Spirit weren’t going away quietly, scoring a stunning try through Jono Lance after combining brilliantly to put Eden away. However, in the last few minutes of the half, the Eagles scrum was beginning to gain the upper hand, and they went to the sheds with a converted try the margin, 24-16.

In the second half, the scrum dominance continued as the Country Eagles began to show their class, with Gordon crossing for this third try in the 45^th minute. The Spirit began to build phases, however their efforts were becoming increasingly hindered by the Eagles forward pack, who were beginning to take control of the game. The Spirit were able to grab a stunning try and cut the margin to a converted try, but that was as close as they would get.

The Eagles reinforcements gave them a second wind, with Gordon capping off a man-of-the-match performance by putting Kyle Godwin in space, and Ned Hannigan crossing after the siren to give the Eagles the bonus point.

The Eagles did extremely well to overcome the Spirit, who at times matched them at scrum time and in space. What the Eagles will be pleased with was their efforts to ground out the Spirit and shut down their attacking options, and even more pleased that their finals position is now all but guaranteed. Now they will have to aim to finish in the Top 2, to see if they can take their final back to Orange who’s residents missed out on attending this amazing game of rugby.

The Spirit will be disappointed with their performance. If the Rising prevail over Canberra tomorrow the Spirit could find themselves outside of finals contention, so this loss may prove fatal in the context of their campaign.

Overall, the game was an extremely high quality one, perhaps the best of the tournament so far. The ARU may want to consider doing double headers in the future, as the vibe around the ground after this game (and the thrilling Rams v QLD Country match) was buzzing from the quality of rugby played. An accidental fixture, but one that may prove helpful for the growth of the competition in the future.

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The Game Changer

The Eagles and Spirit scrum time match was riveting during the first half, however in the 39^th minute the Spirit were penalised for rotating the scrum. This proved to be the start of their undoing, as the Country Eagles all but shut their scrum out of the contest in the second half to create the platform to win the game. It was a truly impressive team performance, which made it really hard to single out any Country players for recognition.[/one_third]

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The G&GR MOTM

Without a doubt, Jake Gordon is a man on a mission, and impressed in a stellar performance. Scoring a hat-trick and setting up Kyle Godwin for his try, the plucky halfback was sublime and produced a perfect performance. Other notable highlights were Jono Lance who kept the Spirit in the game and looked dangerous every time he got the ball, and Reece Robinson, who seems to be on a golden run at the moment out on the wing. [/one_third]

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Oz Baabaa Watch

Maniera Eden was a surprising standout for the Spirit, combining brilliantly with Jono Lance to score for the Spirit, and had a solid game out at fullback. The Force should take notice of this guy, cause he has the makings of what could be a solid fullback. For the Eagles, I was particularly impressed by Kiwi Taylar Adams, who was flawless with the boot and had a solid outing at fly half.[/one_third]

The Details