COUNTRY PUSHING CHANCES FOR TITLE
FINALS passport secured, Queensland Country have set their sights on the most unlikely of NRC titles after rewriting history again in Fiji.
A season after languishing as the rugby competition’s easybeats, Brad Thorn’s squad claimed the Horan-Little Shield in Round 8 with a 24-17 victory over Fijian Drua on Saturday.
The four-try-to-three win maintained Country’s top spot in the NRC standings with one round remaining.
“The match speaks volumes about the heart and character of this side,” Thorn said.
“We had to make a number of changes heading into the match, losing captain Duncan Paia’aua and Izaia Perese.
“It’s taken a full squad to get to where we are and the guys who came into the squad got the job done.
“The Fijian side were dangerous and played hard rugby for the full 80 minutes, but our team stood up in defence and made the most of our set piece dominance to claim the win.
“We came to Fiji with the team’s toughest challenge ahead of them, and the boys have come out the other side having secured Country’s first ever finals berth.”
Country winger Eto Nabuli iced the result on Saturday with seven minutes left to add another celebrated chapter to the team’s remarkable turnaround season.
Surprise-packets Queensland Country next face Perth Spirit in the final round of the NRC in Ipswich next Sunday at 4pm.