The Cowra club will host the Shute Shield match between the two rugby powerhouses on Saturday, June 30.

The match will now be shown live on 7TWO thanks to member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke who secured the grant for the Cowra club.

Announcing the grant on Thursday night with Deputy Premier John Barilaro, Ms Cooke said the money would go towards sending a broadcast of the match live through 7 and two repeats on Fox Sports.

“People from outside the electorate, all over Australia will be able to see Cowra at it’s very best,” Ms Cooke said during Thursday night’s announcement.

“We know that rugby is an incredibly important sport both here in Cowra and across the Cootamundra electorate and more broadly across Australia and indeed the world.

“I’ve asked the deputy premier especially for this funding and I am very grateful to have such a supportive deputy premier not just for this funding but for so many initiatives across the electorate,” Ms Cooke said.

Mr Barilaro described sport “as the fabric of communities” in regional NSW.

“We’re out there at the moment really pushing sporting infrastructure, this is an important opportunity to showcase Cowra through the Eagles, to broadcast it belong the limits of Cowra,” Mr Barilaro said.

Cowra Rugby Club committee member Peter Watt said the match between Eastwood and Northern Suburbs would be a battle between two of the top three sides in the Shute Shield.

“It’s a pinch game, a big game and locals will get the opportunity to see very high level rugby players and certainly some of the stars of the Waratahs, Mr Watt said.

A huge viewing audience, according to Mr Watt will take the chance to witness the match through the live broadcast.

“There’s a lot of people who will take the opportunity on a Saturday afternoon to relax and watch the rugby,” he said.

“It’s great that 7 now bring it to us out here like the ABC formerly did and it just widens the exposure of this very high level game, the local game and this district and community.”

Mr Watt said the Sydney players will love Cowra and the warmth of the state government through the grant funding “will warm the cockles of their hearts”.

“We’ll have fire buckets an appropriate medication on the sidelines for both players and supporters,” Mr Watt said of the expected cooler conditions the Sydney players will face.