THE 2016 Buildcorp National Rugby Championship (NRC) draw was released on Wednesday morning, revealing the new-look NSW Country Eagles will return to Orange this year for their round five clash with the Perth Spirit.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The fixture is set to be played at Orange Emus’ home ground of Endeavour Oval on Saturday, September 24 – a week after the Blowes Clothing Cup grand final.
The last time the Eagles ventured to the colour city was in 2014, when they lost 37-16 to the Melbourne Rising at Wade Park.
September’s game will be one of four the Eagles will play in regional areas, the side will also turn out against the Rising in Tamworth, Queensland Country in Toowoomba and the Canberra Vikings in the nation’s capital.
“We are trying to get out into country areas as much as possible,” newly-appointed Eagles general manager Peter Playford told RugbyNews earlier this year.
The Eagles will return to Orange a far different entity than two years ago though after the franchise merged with the now defunct Sydney Stars during the off season.
The merger was agreed upon after it was decided NSW couldn’t sustain four franchises. As a result the Greater Sydney Rams have now become the Western Sydney Rams while the North Harbour Rays have become the Sydney Rays.
After each franchises’ initial two-year competition licence expired after the 2015 competition the Stars were advised to seek a merger or fold and Playford – who coached the Stars - said the logical choice was to join forces with NSW Country.
Questions remain as the whether the Eagles’ logo and establishment colours – burnt gold and black – will remain under the merger however it will gift NSW Country a substantially larger player pool to choose from.
“We looked at how many country players were already playing at Sydney Uni, Tom Robertson, Paddy Ryan, Jeremy Tilse, David Hickey, Angus Roberts etc, and thought our most logical partner was NSW Country,” Playford said.
The Orange and Tamworth games are Eagles’ home fixtures, their only other home game will be played at Sydney University - in a nod to the Stars – against Brisbane City in round one.
“The game at uni will be about giving country people living in Sydney an opportunity to support their side,” Playford said.
In 2016, the NRC will continue to be at the forefront of innovation with a revised points structure seeing six points awarded for a try, two points for a conversion and two points for a penalty goal and drop goal.
“We’re confident that with the confirmation of eight teams and the learning off the back of the first two seasons the overall quality of the National Rugby Championship product will improve in 2016 as the competition will be stronger and more competitive,” Australian Rugby Union general manager Ben Whittaker said.
“Last year there were on average more than nine tries scored per match, and with the 2016 games being played mostly on weekend afternoons at a variety of regional and metropolitan grounds, more fans than ever before will have a chance to enjoy the thrill of the NRC.”
In a new development for 2016, Fox Sports will broadcast two games each weekend on television (Saturday and Sunday at 3pm) with the two remaining games (Saturday and Sunday at 1pm) available to stream live.
Orange’s game is expected to be one of the televised games.
The NRC’s first round kicks off on Saturday, August 27.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
