RUGBY UNION
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
THE NSW Country Cockatoos could have selected almost any player as a standout in their 48-5 hammering of the ACT Brumbies Provincial XV at Ashwood Park on Saturday, but scrum half Adam McCormack was one of the leading candidates.
The Port Macquarie and Hastings Valley Vikings player was in complete control at the breakdown from the get-go in the Bathurst fixture.
He had a hand in several of the Cockatoos’ tries, but saved his best for last.
McCormack brought the crowd to life with a bullet behind-the-back flick pass, which led to a try for Dubbo’s Filisione Pauta inside the final 10 minutes of the game.
He insisted that he doesn’t practice the trick pass.
“I don’t practice it enough. It was a bit of a fluke that one,” he laughed.
The talented Cockatoo didn’t have to rely on any other tricks to help his side towards the win, just some lethally quick passing from the ruck and an excellent directing of play.
He made way for Forbes Platypi’s Mahe Fangupo 24 minutes into the game, but was back on the field in the second half causing headaches for the Brumbies’ defence.
McCormack said it was great to see his team apply the lessons they learned from the loss to the Australian under 20s team.
“We had a pretty tough game a few weeks ago against the Australian under 20s, but the boys got a lot of positives out of it. They definitely used those good things tonight to get the win,” he said.
“We were a bit more accurate at the breakdown tonight. We didn’t drop as much ball and when we had the football, we used it the right way. When we got down into the 22 metres we actually came away with points.
“We had a lot of those opportunities against the 20s to come away with points, but they were too good for us. Tonight we got a lot of points, which was really good to see.”
The wet conditions made it difficult for a lot of ball movement, but McCormack was happy to play a game with two distinct styles of rugby.
“It’s pretty muddy out there so the forwards came into the game more during that second half but in the first half the backs enjoyed a lot of ball,” he said.
