THE National Rugby Championship hasn’t been especially kind to the North Harbour Rays so far in 2015, but there is still a flicker of hope among the playing group that they can make the finals.
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Seventh in the inaugural edition of the tournament last season, the Rays come to Bathurst today to face the NSW Country Eagles, a team in a similar situation in that they must win, and hope other results go their way.
Injuries and a tough draw have left the Rays on two wins and five losses approaching the do-or-die clash with the Eagles.
A run where they played four matches in a row against Super 15-aligned franchises took its toll and the Rays are still recovering, though a win last week against Queensland Country kept their faint hopes alive.
“It’s more a mathematical chance than anything, so our attitude this week has been to keep our standards up where we know they should be and then see what happens,” coach Geoff Townsend said.
“We want to finish off our time together with a smile on our faces. If that sees us alive for another week, then well and good, but there’s no point in us talking about making the playoffs until we’ve played our game.”
For the Rays to make the finals, they have to defeat the NSW Country Eagles by 44 points with a bonus point and then rely on the Sydney Stars defeating the Melbourne Rising and denying them a bonus point.
That is a long odds bet in anyone’s language, but the way the Rays played last week against Queensland Country in a 50-32 win, particularly in the second half, then anything is possible.
The Rays will have to battle on this week without Dennis Pili-Gaitau, who worked so well off the bench last Saturday, as the blockbusting centre has had to travel back to New Zealand for family reasons.
Pili-Gaitau’s absence means that the Rays will run with a forward-orientated bench, with Northern Suburbs’ Hugh Sinclair again to play as a reserve.
He deputised for Sione Ala late in the piece last weekend when Ala’s partner went into labour on Saturday.
Vance Elliott has also had to come off with a toe injury picked up not long after he got on the field last weekend against Queensland Country.
Gordon’s James Wilkinson, who is yet to turn 20, will come on to the bench if he is passed fit.
The midfield combination of Sam Lane, Reece Hodge and Michael Adams will get another run together, while Tom Hill keeps his starting spot on the wing.
Hamish Angus will again operate from fullback and his goal-kicking will be vital to the result of the game and also whether the necessary bonus point is gathered.
“We’ve had a good season considering the circumstances. We had one Super 15 player [Jack Dempsey] and he broke his cheek six weeks ago, so we’ve had a bunch of players who’ve never really been involved in a professional environment,” Townsend said.
“We’ve beaten one of the professional sides [Western Force affiliate Perth Spirit] and been in the game against the others. The only really poor game we’ve played was against the Greater Sydney Rams.
“In games against Super 15 affiliates we’ve been in the contest until the last 10 minutes, but unfortunately they’re replacing Super 15 players with Super 15 players. That’s tough.”
Townsend has done his homework on the Eagles and is anticipating an open game at Ashwood Park today.
“Some sides have shied away when they’ve taken on the professional players, but we’ve tried to be just as attacking as normal,” he said.
“When you’ve got players like the Holmes brothers [Luke and Josh] who play with a Warringah side renowned for running rugby, you know there will be a lot of positive football played.
“The Eagles have some great players too, and with attacking guys like Andrew Kellaway, Jono Lance and David Horwitz, they’ll provide a great challenge.
“Hopefully both teams play really positive footy and put on a show for Bathurst.”
NORTH HARBOUR RAYS: 1 Mitch Lewis, 2 Luke Holmes, 3 Lawrance Hunting, 4 Ruairidh Wilson, 5 Ryan Melrose, 6 Harry Bergelin, 7 Boyd Killingworth, 8 Harry Rorke, 9 Josh Holmes, 10 Sam Lane, 11 John Porch, 12 Reece Hodge, 13 Michael Adams, 14 Tom Hill, 15 Hamish Angus, 16 James Wilkinson, 17 Rory O’Connor, 18 Alex Holmes/Nick Fraser, 19 Cameron Treloar, 20 Mitch Daniel, 21 Hugh Sinclair, 22 Tim Donlan, 22 Sione Ala