CSU coach Dave Conyers fears his New Holland Cup squad has copped four season-ending injuries

Not only did CSU suffer a 30-5 loss to the Mudgee Wombats, but the students have potentially lost four players for the remainder of the New Holland Cup season as well.

Centres Campbell Morris (shoulder) and Reggie Morris (knee) were both unable to see out the match, as was prop Joseph Fajloun.

After limping through the final quarter of the match, lock Jonah Ruzgas also fears he's done serious damage to his knee.

"That's four season ending injuries by the looks of it. Three of them I definitely don't think will be back, Jonah is a question mark," coach Dave Conyers said.

"We were missing four guys to start with to due to work placements and unavailability, so we were pretty well under done today."

CSU has already lost star flyhalf Ethan Cusick to a broken arm, had three members of its pack move away from the area, and are dealing with many players having work placement as a requirement of their degrees.

The combination that Morris and Townsend - who had been amongst CSU's best on Saturday before injury forced them off - had been a positive for Conyers.

But now it's back to the drawing board.

"We really started getting some good combinations with those two in the last two or three weeks, we finally got some centres which we hadn't had all year, but then we lose them both in one day. Far out," the coach exclaimed.

"To be honest I don't know how I'm going to put a team together next week."

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Before the string of injuries, CSU had applied plenty of pressure at the breakdown to prevent the Wombats from really capitalising on their glut of possession.

Mudgee's first try came eight minutes into the match, only moments after CSU celebrated a try-saving tackle from Townsend which had put winger Vili Lautaimi into touch.

The line-out which followed saw the Wombats win against the feed. The ball was spread to the opposite wing where a nice right-foot step put Lachlan Winstone over.

A penalty goal followed, but CSU was the next to strike as Ruzgas burrowed his way over to make it 8-5.

However, in the 28th minute Mudgee was in again.

Building pressure with some good phase rugby, the hosts then went to the blindside and found skipper Tom Dunstan. From five metres out he charged over.

The final five minutes before the break brought plenty of drama - Mudgee had a potential try called back for a forward pass, Morris went off with a shoulder injury then the students launched a counter-attack off a scrum deep inside their own half which very nearly resulted in a five-pointer.

Through that hectic period no more points came and it was the Wombats who went to half-time up 13-5.

At that stage Conyers felt his men were in with a chance of upsetting the competition leaders.

"We were pretty competitive up until then," he said.

"It was their best defensive effort all year by a mile.

"When we had the ball we looked dangerous, we just didn't have enough of it."

Shortly after play resumed in the second half CSU lost front rower Fajloun, which meant non-contested scrums, then Townsend had to be helped from the field after dislocating his knee.

Those injuries hurt CSU and while they continued to play with heart, the Wombats went on with the job with number 8 Alex Saint particularly damaging.

Lochie Brown and Hunter Olsson scored within four minutes of each other as the score pushed out to 25-5.

The Wombats then sealed the win in the 82nd minute, Cody Eagle scoring in his 100th match.

"It was their gutsiest effort of the year, they didn't give up all game. It was really promising that way," Conyers said.

"But Mudgee, they're just too big and strong and they just powered over our scrum and really drove in against the boys.

"We only got one five-phases play for the game and you can play and win a game of rugby with possession like that."

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