WALCHA enter Sunday's semi-final clash at Weebolla Oval clear on what they have to do to keep their season alive – play for the 80 minutes.
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The last three times they've played the Bulls, the Rams have led deep into the game. Twice the Bulls have run them down.
The first round this season the Rams led 26-5 early in the second half before going down 43-26.
The next week “looked like going the same way" coach Barry Hoy recalled, when from 25-nil up at one stage they found themselves clinging to an eight-point lead.
They managed to hold on for the points on that occasion, but go into what is effectively the minor semi-final knowing they can't afford to switch off.
“We can't relax or they'll come back at us,” Hoy warned.
He said they will take confidence from the way they have shown they can match it with the Bulls, and as he did against Inverell last week, Hoy highlighted defence as pivotal.
“We can't miss those one on one tackles,” he said.
“(And) We can't let them get any momentum up.
“We've got to meet them at the gain line.
“Their forwards rolled in a couple of tries against Quirindi last week.”
That was also where the Bulls really did the damage in that first game.
The Rams were missing Country reps Soni Halanukonuka and Simon Newton that day but still put “a few good backline plays together”, and if the set pieces can function, and they can win their share of possession, the Rams believe they might have a bit of an advantage there.
The Bulls had lost four straight before beating Quirindi 38-21 in the elimination final last week, and will be just looking to build off the “good points” from that.
”Last week we played really well for 20 minutes and okay for 60 minutes,” co-coach Simon Hall said.
It's been a common theme this season.
“In that first game the 30 minutes of rugby we put together was just awesome,” Hall recalled.
“The rest wasn't awesome.”
He wasn't really drawing much out of the second game. They had players out with injury and other commitments, having originally been scheduled for the bye for that weekend.
“We know what Walcha offer,” he said.
“They're hard through the forwards and have good backs that if you give them a bit of space can cause some damage.”
“We know our defensive line needs to be well-structured and the integrity of our backline needs to be consistent.”
Defence will be a big focus.
“If we work on that (defence) the attack will come,” Hall said.
