Eagles To Turn Pain Into Joy
NSW Country coach believes defence is the key in today’s must- win clash against the Fijian Drua.
NSW Country Eagles landed at Nadi with a mission to beat the Fiji Airways Fijian Drua side at the ANZ Stadium, Suva, this afternoon.
The Eagles are still hurting from the heartbreaking last minute 24-17 loss to Canberra Vikings last Sunday.
Coach Darren Coleman said they have worked on their defence.
“Our A zone attack, composure and execution needed to be better to take more advantage of the field position and possession we had,” Coleman said.
Will Miller is going to captain the Eagles in the absence of Paddy Ryan and the game presents the opportunity for some players to put their hand-up for Super Rugby contracts with a strong performance in a challenging environment.
“It presents a great challenge for our group and there is nothing better than winning matches people don’t think you can. It’s one of the purest feelings in sport.
“To beat them is not rocket science, you’ve got to minimise the number of unstructured possessions you give them, from poor kicks and turnovers as they are punished by the Drua.”
Coleman said he is confident of their set piece play but it’s up to them to be error-free off the back of that.
LINE-UP
- Harry Johnson-Holmes, 2. Tolu Latu, 3. Chris Talakai, 4. Jed Holloway, 5. Emmanuel Meafou, 6. Nick Champion De Crespigny, 7. Will Miller (c), 8. Sam Figg, 9. Mick Snowden, 10. Mack Mason, 11. Alex Gibbon, 12. William McDonnell, 13. Alex Newsome, 14. Seb Wileman, 15. Jaline Graham
Reserves: 16. Mahe Vailanu, 17. Matt Gibbon, 18. Robert Lagudi, 19. Patrick Tafa, 20. Alex Humfrey, 21. Denny Godinet, 22. Jack Grant, 23. Afa Pakalani.
-Edited by Leone Cabenatabua
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