The Cowra Eagles are doing all they can to play this weekend’s match against CSU, following Wednesday’s decision that Bathurst’s University Oval would be closed for the weekend.
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Cowra offered to move the round 15 Blowes Clothing Cup fixture to the Cowra Rugby Grounds but their opponents weren’t keen on travelling.
Cowra sit fifth on the competition ladder and are six points clear of the Bathurst Bulldogs, who have a game up their sleeve and a golden run home.
Eagles president James Keady said his side can’t afford to miss an opportunity where they could register a bonus point win.
“We cannot not play a game, I’ve been crunching the numbers all morning,” James Keady said on Thursday afternoon.
“We’ve made our ground available like Orange City did for them [CSU] a couple of weeks ago but they don’t want to travel.
“What we’re doing now is trying to find a ground over there [Bathurst]. We’re trying St Stanislaus’ College but it’s not looking good, I’m disappointed,” he said.
If Cowra’s game is washed out, Keady said he’d push for a general bye for the entire competition whereas CSU coach Pip McIntosh hopes to reschedule the game mid-week – something Central West Rugby Union president Frank Newman says is virtually impossible.
Newman also said no decision had been made on whether the Cowra/CSU game would go ahead but confirmed other venues were being looked at.
It’s expected a decision will be made this Friday.
This weekend’s match would see a hugely confident Eagles outfit hit the paddock following their two most recent outings which they’ve recorded more than 130 points.
Following Saturday’s 84-0 drubbing of Parkes coach Troy Hayes said he was pleased to see his side’s attack click into gear, and he also stated they’d achieved the first step of attempting to win three consecutive weeks with bonus points.
If Cowra get the chance to back that up this Saturday, five-eighth Bill Cummins looms as the key man coming off one of his best performances of the season last weekend, setting up several tries and crashing over for two of his own.
CSU coach Pip McIntosh said while his team had showed plenty of spirit they’ve been down on training time.
“I don’t want to send the guys in unprepared,” he said.
“We’ve only had two training sessions over the last five weeks … and not one of those was with the scrum machine available.
“I’ve got a duty of care to my forwards in the scrum and sending them in without practice means they could risk injuries.”
CSU currently sit eighth on the ladder with three wins from 13 matches.
Fellow Bathurst Blowes Clothing Cup side Bulldogs also have a rained out match still to play, theirs being against the Dubbo Kangaroos from a fortnight ago.
While the options for a replay are slim – mid-week or a Sunday – McIntosh said he’ll be pushing for the former.
“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to play Cowra in a mid-week match,” the students’ coach confirmed.