New South Wales Country Eagles
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Charles Sturt University NSW Country
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Founded | 2014 | ||
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Region | NSW Regions, excl. Sydney & Southern NSW | ||
Ground(s) | Ann Ashwood Park
(Bathurst)
No. 2 Sports Ground Chillingworth Oval (Tamworth)
Woollahra Oval (Sydney)
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Coach(es) | Darren Coleman | ||
Captain(s) | Jono Lance | ||
League(s) | National Rugby Championship | ||
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Official website | |||
nswcountryeagles |
The New South Wales Country Eagles is an Australian rugby union football team competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). The team was founded by a group of patrons associated with country rugby in New South Wales. The Eagles team plays home matches in regional centres of New South Wales, including Bathurst, Newcastle, and Tamworth.[1]
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Name and colours
The NSW Country Eagles' name derives from the wedge-tailed eagle, a large bird of prey found across all areas of Australia. Golden hackles highlight the eagle's predominantly black feathers and these have been adopted as the team's colours.[2] The team's logo has a wedge-tailed eagle, regardant, with wings displayed and holding a rugby ball. The logo and mascot, “Wedgie”, were chosen in consultation with the NSW Country Rugby Union to differentiate the team from the existing Cockatoos representative side. The Eagles, however, still wear the traditional black and gold (amber) colours of NSW Country.[1]
Sponsorship
The major naming sponsor of the New South Wales Country Eagles is Charles Sturt University (CSU), under a two-year partnership agreed with the team for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.[3]
History
The ARU announced in December 2013 that the National Rugby Championship (NRC) would commence in 2014. Expressions of interest were open to all parties, with the accepted bids announced in early 2014.[4] A group of rugby patrons headed by businessmen Rick Hutchinson and Peter Tonkin founded the bid for a New South Wales Country team.[5][6] On 24 March 2014, it was announced that New South Wales Country would be in the new competition.[7]
Originally it was thought the Country team for the NRC would be wholly composed of city-based players of country origin, but a goal of recruiting between four and eight players that were country-based was announced.[7] Sydney clubs Easts and Randwick also have a direct link as feeder clubs for the NSW Country team in the NRC.[7]
Darren Coleman was appointed as the first head coach of NSW Country team. Coleman had previously guided Japanese team Toyota Shokki to Top League promotion for the 2013–14 season.[8][9] He was also the assistant coach of the Central Coast Rays team which won the ARC in 2007.[10] Matthew Carraro was named as captain of the Eagles' team for the opening match of the 2014 season.[11]
General manager of the NSW Country Eagles, former Wallabies player James Grant, indicated that the team would be based out of Sydney’s Moore Park, but would travel to regional centres in New South Wales to play all home games. Cities including Orange, Dubbo, Mudgee, Lismore, Tamworth, Moree, Armidale and Newcastle expressed an interest in staging country matches.[6]
Grounds
The New South Wales Country team plays home games in regional centres of the state.[1] The team has scheduled home matches at the following locations for the 2015 season:
City | Venue | Capacity |
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Bathurst | Ann Ashwood Park | 3,000 |
Newcastle | No. 2 Sports Ground | 5,000 |
Tamworth | Chillingworth Oval | 3,000 |
Sydney | Woollahra Oval | 5,000 |
Other home match locations used in previous seasons:[12]
City | Venue | Capacity |
---|---|---|
Dubbo | Caltex Park[13] | 12,000 |
Gosford | Central Coast Stadium | 20,059 |
Orange | Wade Park[14] | 8,000 |
Lismore | Oakes Oval[15] | 10,000 |
Sydney | Coogee Oval[16] | 5,000 |
Current squad
The squad for the 2015 National Rugby Championship season:[17][18]
Props
Hookers
Locks
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Loose Forwards
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
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Centres
Wingers
Fullbacks
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(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped, 1 denotes allocated national player additional to the contracted squad.
Development squad
The NSW Country Eagles also announced a development squad for the 2014 season.[19]
2014 NSW Country Eagles Development Squad | |||||||||
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Forwards
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Forwards (Cont'd)
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Backs
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Backs (Cont'd)
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Records
Honours
- National Rugby Championship
- Playoff appearances: 2014
Season standings
National Rugby Championship
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Year Pos Pld W D L F A +/- BP Pts Play-offs 2015 5th 8 4 0 4 225 260 −35 3 19 Did not compete 2014 2nd 8 6 0 2 251 202 +49 3 27 Semi-final loss to Brisbane City by 26–32.
Head coaches
- Darren Coleman (2014–)
Captains
- Jono Lance (2015)[20]
- Matthew Carraro, Cameron Treloar (2014)
Squads
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2014 NSW Country Eagles squad – NRC The squad for the 2014 National Rugby Championship season:[21][22] Props
- Michael Alaalatoa
- Duncan Chubb
- Jake Ilnicki
- Sekope Kepu1
- Max Lahiff
- Tim Metcher
- Ben Suisala
Hookers
- Ryan Dalziel
- Billy Johnston
- Josh Mann-Rea
- Will Weeks
Locks
- Mitchell Chapman
- Kane Douglas
- Ben Matwijow
- Cameron Treloar
Loose Forwards
- Sam Croke
- Tala Gray
- Stephen Hoiles
- Will Miller
- Pauli Tuala
- Ita Vaea
Scrum-halves
- Darcy Etrich
- Brendan McKibbin
- Michael Snowden
- Nic White1
Fly-halves
- David Horwitz
- Matt Toomua1
- Sam Windsor
Centres
- Adam Ashley-Cooper1
- Matthew Carraro (c)
- Apakuki Ma’afu
- Ed Stubbs
- Chris Tuatara-Morrison
- Samu Wara
Wingers
- Ethan Ford
- John Grant
- Andrew Kellaway
- Misieli Sinoti
- Malakai Watene-Zelezniak
Fullbacks
(c) Team captain
1 Allocated national player additional to the contracted squad.
Gallery
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NSW Country Eagles vs Greater Sydney Rams NRC Round 1 (4).jpg
NSW Country Eagles Round 1
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NSW Country Eagles vs Greater Sydney Rams NRC Round 1 (5).jpg
NSW Country Eagles Coogee Oval
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NSW Country Eagles vs Greater Sydney Rams NRC Round 1 (1).jpg
NSW Country Eagles Coogee Oval
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NSW Country Eagles vs Greater Sydney Rams NRC Round 1 (2).jpg
NSW Country Eagles Coogee Oval
See also
- New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU)
- New South Wales Country Cockatoos
- Combined New South Wales–Queensland Country
References
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- ↑ Qantas Wallabies player alignments unveiled for 2014 Buildcorp National Rugby Championship
External links
- nswcountryeagles.com official website
- NSW Country Eagles on twitter.com
- NSW Country Eagles on facebook.com
- Darren Coleman, Head Coach of the NSW Country Eagles on YouTube.