IF Waratahs scrum-half Brendan McKibbin takes the field for the NSW Country Eagles in Saturday’s National Rugby Championship match, you will be entertained.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Eagles coach Darren Coleman is expected to name his squad today for the game against the Melbourne Rising at Orange’s Wade Park.
McKibbin, who was part of the Waratahs side which took out the 2014 Super Rugby crown, said if he gets to run out onto Wade Park, he won’t be holding anything back.
“I know as a squad, we’re all excited. We have a really good time in the country areas,” McKibbin said.
“We go out there and we’re excited to play in the regional areas and we try and put on a good show for the rugby fans out there.”
Working in McKibbin’s favour is he played at Wade Park in 2010 when the Waratahs took on Fiji in a trial match.
“I’m pretty excited to come out to Orange,” McKibbin, who turns 29 tomorrow, said.
“I played a trial there before with the Waratahs. I think as we kicked off it started to rain heavily and then the second half was beautiful.”
The Eastern Suburbs player brings plenty of experience to the Eagles.
However, he said you can expect a more exciting brand of rugby due to the rule variations for the NRC, which includes penalty goals being worth two points, and conversions three. Tries are still worth five points.
“I’m loving my time with the Eagles,” McKibbin said.
“The new rules mean it’s a different style. We chance our arm a bit more and try some things we wouldn’t in Super Rugby.”
A key factor in Saturday’s game being so entertaining is the top two sides in the NRC will go head-to-head.
The Melbourne Rising are unbeaten after their opening four rounds, having enjoyed wins against the North Harbour Rays (55-34), Sydney Stars (45-13), Brisbane City (79-18) and Perth Spirit (44-24).
The NSW Country Eagles won their opening three matches against the Greater Sydney Rams (31-2), Queensland Country (37-13) and North Harbour Rays (33-21).
The Eagles suffered their first loss of the season last Sunday when they were beaten by a Brisbane City side, flush with Queensland Reds players, 34-26.
McKibbin said the Eagles players are keen to go up against the competition leaders.
“We want to play the best,” McKibbin said.
“They’ve not lost a game yet. Last week we put ourselves into opportunities to score points, but our execution was not as good as the first couple of weeks.”
Saturday’s NRC clash between the Eagles and the Rising will be played at Wade Park from 3pm. Tickets are available online at nswcountryeagles.com/tickets/.