At the same venue as they were beaten by the Spirit in last years grand final, the Eagles were gritty as they moved within a win of the top four with two rounds remaining.

Ryan though was hesitant to look past their next assignment, the Melbourne Rising in Melbourne, acknowledging that as much of a cliche as it is, that “in this competition” you have to take it a week at a time.

Celebrating his second win in the region this season, after the Eagles were victorious over Canberra in Armidale last month, the Tamworth product, in an after match interview, spoke about how proud he is to be from Tamworth. 

“I’ve always been proud to be from Tamworth but I can honestly say that I have never been as proud as I have been the last the 12-18 months to be from this town,” he said.

“It’s a very special community and a great rugby town.”

The scoreline mirrored what was a close tussle. There was nothing in it at half-time, with last years grand finalists producing the first scoreless first half in the four years of the NRC. Both sides were a bit scratchy, although on balance the Spirit had the better of the territory and possession in the first half, the Eagles’ defence helping keep them at bay.

Ryan was critical of his sides last round defensive effort, but against a Spirit side stacked with Super Rugby talent, he thought their defence was “fantastic”.

“I think our centres defended particularly well. They had a really good pairing opposite them and I think they did really really well,” he said.

“I also think Tom Robertson was a huge inclusion for us. Sam Needs has been one of our form players but Tom just brought that test level of intensity around the rest of his play back into the game.”

The Eagles opened the scoring just a couple of minutes into the second half, five-eighth Tayler Adams delivering a sharp cut out to winger Seb Wileman, after some good hard direct running had created some good momentum for the home side. Minutes later Wileman sent fullback Andrew Kellaway away as the Eagles jumped out to a 10-nil lead barely six minutes in.

The Spirit hit back through prop Jermaine Ainsley, but a 20m rolling maul restored the Eagles 10-point advantage with 20 minutes to play.

Ryan felt like they were pretty much in control for most of the second half, a late try to replacement hooker Samo Malol giving them a bit of a late scare.

EARLIER: 

The NSW Country Eagles made it two from two for their visits to the region this year with a 15-10 win over the Perth Spirit in their National Rugby Championship clash at Tamworth’s Scully Park.

At the same venue as they were beaten by the Spirit in last years grand final, the Eagles notched their third win of their 2017 campaign to keep themselves in the finals running.

They were given a bit of a late scare with Spirit replacement hooker Samo Malolo burrowing his way over from a pick and go, to close within a converted try with a few minutes remaining.

But that was as close as they got with the Eagles forcing a knock-on from the kick-off and winding down the clock.

The first half was a real arm wrestle and saw the first scoreless first half in the history of the NRC.

The Spirit had the better of the territory and opportunities but through a combination of poor handling, pushed passes, and stiff Eagles defence they had nothing to show for it. They did have a few penalty opportunities but turned those down.

Whatever Eagles coach Darren Coleman said to his troops at the break it had immediate effect.

The half was barely two minutes old when a pin-point cut-out from Eagles five-eighth Tayler Adams set up winger Seb Wileman.

Wileman was in the thick of the action a couple of minutes later, steaming into an inside ball from Kyle Godwin and putting on the fend, to send fullback Andrew Kellaway away as the Eagles jumped out to a 10-nil lead after just over five minutes of play.

The defending champions have though had a knack of hitting back quickly when they fall behind, and did just that, with hooker Anaru Rangi and prop Jermaine Ainsley combining out on the left flank. Channeling his inner back, Rangi sliced through the Eagles defence and delivered a sharp cut-out to his front row partner, who then bumping off several would-be Eagles tacklers on a 20m solo run to score in the corner.

Spirit five-eighth Ian Prior went within a whisker of converting and making it a three-point game but his kick hit the cross-bar.

After regaining the ball from the kick-off and then earning a penalty, the Eagles’ forwards showed their strength with a 20m rolling maul to restore their 10-point advantage with 20 minutes to play.

The Eagles had opportunities in the red zone after that but were just unable to finish them off.

Eagles skipper and Tamworth product Paddy Ryan admitted he was a bit worried at half-time having had the benefit of the wind behind them but couldn’t have been happier with their second half.

“We came out after half-time and we played very direct, got those couple of tries and until maybe the end we always felt like we were pretty much in control of it was ours to lose and I think against a really good side the boys defended particularly well,” Ryan said.

He had leading into the game identified their defence as the area they really needed to improve on from their last round effort against Queensland Country, and against a Spirit side stacked with Super Rugby talent and welcoming back three Wallaby squad members, thought it was “fantastic”.

There was a real hard edge to it.

“I think our centres defended particularly well,” he said.

“They had a really good pairing opposite them and I think they did really really well.”

“I also think Tom Robertson was a huge inclusion for us. Sam Needs has been one of our form players but Tom just brought that test level of intensity around the rest of his play back into the game.”

The Eagles’ next assignment is the Melbourne Rising in Melbourne next Sunday.