Dubbo rugby product Beau Robinson believes bush rugby will benefit immensely from initiatives announced by the Australian Rugby Union this year including a visit from the Wallabies.
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A 30-man Wallabies squad will visit Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst as part of their preparations for the Bledisloe Cup in August and the Queensland Reds flanker believes the presence of players like Israel Falau, Quade Cooper and Will Genia will be a massive boost for the code in the central west.
The revival of the Australian Rugby Championships and the inclusion of a NSW Country team is another welcome addition.
"It's a fantastic boost for rugby in the country. Having the Wallabies out there will be fantastic for young kids and it's pretty exciting to see the ARC coming back," Robinson said.
"Having a country team in there gives country players a clearer pathway into higher level rugby. It will provide extra motivation and should lead to more country players filtering through to the higher tiers of rugby.
"The ARU has identified country NSW as an important development area for them and that's great."
However the inclusion of a country team will count for little unless some of the games are played in the country, according to Robinson.
"No one will buy into it if they don't get to see the games. It would be good if they took four games to regional areas and I think they could arrive on the Thursday, hold a clinic and then use Friday to get out and do community activities before playing the game on Saturday," he said.
"That would help the team win the support of the towns they represent."
Robinson said he would love to be part of the Wallabies squad but for now he is concentrating on helping the Reds to secure a place in the Super Rugby play-offs.
The Reds are currently fourth in the five team Australian conference and have struggled for consistency, failing to win consecutive games in the first eight rounds. They have nine games left to get themselves to the top of the conference or enough points to gain one of three wildcards.
Robinson believes they are capable of it but admits games against the other Australian teams, including the ACT Brumbies this week, will be absolutely crucial to their chances.
"Obviously we're not where we'd like to be but this is a very tight competition, probably the tightest it has been since I've been involved," he said.
"We play the Brumbies, the Waratahs and the Force once more in the remaining rounds, starting with the Brumbies this weekend and they are must-win games for us.
"We beat the Brumbies in the opening round so we expect them to come out fired up."
Robinson has been a reliable performer for the Reds and his form is more impressive given that he missed most of the pre-season with injury.
"It's been great to get back out there. My work rate has been pretty high in the last couple of weeks and I would like to keep that up," he said.