THE Queensland Country Heelers have claimed the spoils in Goondiwindi at the weekend, defeating Shoalhaven product Takunda Chimwaza and his NSW Country Cockatoos 20-12 for the Battle of the Borders Cup.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At Riddles Oval, the Heelers colts laid the platform for the afternoon securing a 21-19 win over NSW Country, before Chimwaza’s side took to the field.
Spurred on by the colts’ result, the senior Heelers came out of the blocks firing, scoring two tries through captain Sam Hogarth and Emil Grant to take a 12-nil lead after 20 minutes.
NSW bounced back and crossed for two tries to level the score at 12-all, before Townsville’s Josh Fletcher crossed for a try to put the home side ahead 17-12 just before half-time.
The second half was hard fought with both sides trading possession, but the only points scored was a sole penalty from Fletcher with approximately 15-minutes left on the clock.
It was enough to put the match out of reach for NSW Country, allowing the Heelers to claim the Battle of the Borders Cup for 2018 with a 20-12 win.
“It really was a tough match, we made it hard for ourselves at times but we defended well and came away from the win,” Queensland Country head coach Rob Johnston said.
“We had a mix of senior and junior players in the team, we had 10 new players who hadn’t pulled on a Heelers jersey before.
“It was really pleasing to see the players come out of their regions and buy into our program, that’s what’s more exciting, we’re building for the future.
“Across the board I was happy with all the players, but our captain Sam Hogarth led from the front.
“Playing at flanker he was outstanding and was the heart and soul of our team.
“We’re really happy with how the colts and senior programs have interacted, to see the colts play in a tough hard match as well, that’s two wins for Queensland Country.
“We brought the game to Goondiwindi because we really wanted to play country rugby.
“Part of our program is supporting Country regions and promoting high quality games, that’s what we did, we brought a great match to Goondiwindi and the crowd came out, the kids are running around and we ran some coaching clinics leading into the game.
“We’re really happy with the overall result.”
