NSW Country Rugby Union

The GrainCorp NSW Country Gold Cockatoos team to play Sydney has been finalised and is set for the annual showdown this Saturday, 9 June at Concord Oval kicking off at 3.10pm.
The Country v Sydney fixture was reintroduced to the representative program last season after an absence of 15 years, and both the NSW Country and Sydney Rugby Unions have embraced the concept of the match.
Sydney will be out to maintain their dominance following their 41 – 17 victory in last year’s clash, but Country come into this year’s match better prepared and are set to take it to the Sydneysiders.
The match has adopted an origin feel with Country selecting their team from players based both in the Country and City, with this year’s team containing thirteen City based players.
Coach Col Jeffs said “the origin concept had been well received by the players, with the response from the City based players being very positive”. “There were a lot of disappointed players, both from Country and the City, when the team was finalised, which highlights the interest being shown in the match” he added.
He went onto say “players are looking to participate in representative Rugby which unfortunately doesn’t really exist, other than for the academy and professional ranks following the decline of competitions like the ARC and ARS”.

1 - James Smith (Norths/Shoalhaven), 2 - Ron Hobden (Gordon/Robb College), 3 - Joey Lynch (Souths/Maitland), 4 - Jeff Wilson (Lennox Head), 5 - Rory Walton (Norths/Coffs Harbour), 6 - Gavin Holder (Camden), 7 - Josh Stewart Capt (Tamworth Pirates), 8 - AJ Gilbert (Norths/Dorrigo), 9 - Mick Snowden (Eastwood/Tamworth Pirates), 10 - Toby Browne (Randwick/Cowra), 11 - Donny Nepia (Wollongong University), 12 - Sam Stewart (Lennox Head), 13 - Pat Dellit (Easts/Maitland), 14 - Damien Reti (Manly/Tamworth Pirates), 15 - Harry Bennett (Easts/Scone), 16 - Billy Johnston (Colleagues/Wollongbar), 17 - Shannon Beavan (Kariong), 18 - Va Talaileva (Hamilton), 19 - Mike Te Moana (Armidale), 20 - Jake Robinson (Lennox Head), 21 Mitch Walton (Norths/Coffs Harbour), 22 - Tom Azar (Easts/Warren), 23 - Kevin McNamara (Warnervale)
Coach – Col Jeffs, A/Coach – Mark Giacheri, Manager – Dave Holt, A/Manager – George Connaughton, Doctor – David Cannon, Physio – Nathan Renwick, Trainer – Clinton Hill, Technical Advisor – David Knox