It will be a case of “State versus State” when the two traditional Country Rugby representative teams face off against one another at Gold Park, Toowoomba with the action set to commence at 2.30pm.

Both teams will be keen to claim the “Battle of the Borders Cup”, as the cup has changed hands over the last two years, with the Cockatoos being the current holders.

Both teams will come into the match with several runs under their belts, the Cockatoos on the back of matches against the Brumbies Provincial XV and NSW Suburban, while the Heelers have just returned home from a two match tour to New Zealand.

The Cockatoos have registered two impressive wins in their two matches, while the Heelers shared the spoils in their matches against Ellesmere and North Canterbury.

Looking at the history of the Cup it shows there is nothing much in the score-lines between the two Country Unions, and this match will more than likely follow the same pattern as previous matches.

Cockatoos Coach Mat Thomas said “not much was known about the Heelers, other than the squad had been together for over a week, which included a tour to New Zealand where they played two matches against strong opposition”.

“The Cockatoos had continued to improve with every match they played, and he was confident that provided the squad maintained their composure, as had been the case in the previous matches, they would take the match to the Heelers”.

Cockatoos had been forced to make one change to the squad following an injury to Flanker Michael Howell, which sees Harry Veitch coming into the starting XV, and a more than capable replacement in Jerry Faifaise coming onto the bench.

“While it was disappointing to lose Howell, the inclusion of Veitch would bring another dimension to the teams’ play, while Faifaise would provide impact when he came into the match,” Thomas said.

The match will be live streamed and can be viewed on Facebook by accessing the Reds Facebook Page.