IT has been a bit of a wait for Dubbo product Beau Robinson but the Super Rugby star will finally make his first start for NSW Country on Thursday night.
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Robinson, who linked up with the Eagles during the off-season after playing the inaugural Buildcorp National Rugby Championship (NRC) with Brisbane City, will run out against Queensland Country at Newcastle.
It is set to be a big match for former Dubbo players with 2014 Blowes Clothing Cup premiership-winning captain Peter Nau named to come off the bench.
The Eagles have won two and lost two from their first four matches so Robinson's return comes at just the right moment as his side is looking to entrench themselves in the top half of the competition.
"We head to Perth and Melbourne after this so I'd really like to take some winning form into that road trip," Eagles coach Darren Coleman told the side's official website.
"We've had a bit of a disjointed start to the year due to various things but there are no excuses now."
That "disjointed start" is mainly down to injuries with Robinson one of roughly 10 players missing last time out when the Eagles were brushed aside 61-29 by Brisbane City.
Robinson admitted last month he was "excited" to run out in the black and gold but the injury troubles that hampered his progress during the most recent Super Rugby season continued.
Now fit again, the Queensland Reds powerhouse has been named at breakaway against Queensland Country, a position which had earlier been filled by Coonamble gun Ned Hanigan before he too succumbed to injury.
Hanigan had been a standout for the Eagles during the opening rounds of the 2015 NRC with the Randwick forward getting plenty of praise from Coleman.
He remains out for the clash against the Queenslanders.
Queensland Country have struggled so far this year and sit second from the bottom with just one win from their opening five matches.
Following Thursday's match at Newcastle, the Eagles play both Perth Spirit and Melbourne Rising away before finishing the regular season with a home clash against the North Harbour Rays at Bathurst's Carrington Park.
o NSW Country Eagles: 1. Jerome Vaai, 2. Tom Sexton, 3. David Feao, 4. Sam Lousi, 5. Tom Staniforth, 6. Beau Robinson, 7. Mark Baldwin,8. Sam Figg, 9. Mitch Short, 10. Jono Lance (c), 11. Charlie Clifton, 12. David Horwitz, 13. Ed Stubbs, 14. Jarome Mackenzie, 15. Andrew Kellaway, 16. Peter Nau, 17. Dane Maraki, 18. Andrew Collins, 19. Nick Palmer, 20. Bj Edwards, 21. Angus Pulver, 22. Will Fay, 23. Jack Pennington.
