Tamworth will have to contend with two Country backs when they host Walcha at Tamworth Rugby Park on Saturday.
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Rams five-eighth Simon Newton and inside centre Pat Keene were this week named in the NSW Country Cockatoos training squad following last weekend’s Country Championships.
Newton was part of the Cockatoos program last season but Keene is one of 18 new faces in the squad.
The Cockatoos will play NSW Suburban on June 4, Brumbies Provincial on June 17 and Queensland Country on July 1.
Moree’s Joshua Walker was the zone’s only other selection making the Cockatoos Colts squad.
Saturday will be the Magpies’ first home game of the season, and a big test.
“It’s going to be a hard ask,” Magpies coach Craig Summers conceded.
One of their most pressing tasks will be shutting down the Rams’ backs.
They were scintillating against Quirindi last round with Keene, Ed Cordingly and Ed Churchill all bagging hat-tricks in an 88-17 drubbing.
Cordingly is the only change to the backline for Saturday, with Peter Young coming in for him. Up front Dave Healey switches from the backrow to hooker with Hayden Jarmen taking his place on the side of the scrum.
“The backs is definitely where we need to contain these guys,” Summers said.
“They’re no slouches in the forwards either.”
Subsequently he is tipping the Rams to be one of the top sides come the end of the season.
He swooped on defence as one of the areas the Magpies really need to improve.
“Getting our alignment and not missing that first one-on-one tackle. It’s very important we make that one-on-one tackle,” he said.
Another method of limiting the impact the Rams backs have is starving them of the ball.
“We need to try and hold that ball a lot longer than we did against Inverell. They can only score tries and go through the backs if they’ve got the ball,” Summers said.
He put their tendency to turn over the ball after a couple of phases against the Highlanders down to being too excited and pushing the pass, and has been encouraged by what he has seen at training. The guys have really stepped up this week.
Summers will happily take a vantage point from the sideline this week, and is one of a couple of changes. Alex Newmarch reverts to hooker, and has already at training taken a bit more control of the scrum, while Lachie McIntosh comes onto the wing.
In other games Gunnedah head to Quirindi while Scone host Inverell.