Seib plans to uphold Country’s defence

NEW Queensland Country coach Rod Seib will follow his predecessor Brad Thorn’s defence-orientated mantra as he plots their campaign for backto-back National Rugby Championship titles.

The competition has earned a reputation for try-fests, with an average of 66 points being scored in regular season games last year.

Thorn, who was promoted to the Reds’ head coaching position for 2018, placed a high priority on not conceding big scores and it proved successful, with Country (average 25.5 points against) charging to the finals.

Seib – Bond University’s defence coach in Queensland Premier Rugby – wants to persist with that outlook.

“Because of those rule modifications it does mean the ball is in play a lot more, therefore there are a lot of tired bodies out there so in theory there is an opportunity to score a lot more points,” he said.

“No doubt the opportunities will come in attack and obviously that comes down to execution but you can’t be winning games in this competition unless you really show some determination when it comes to the defensive side of the game.”

With a large contingent of premiership-winning players returning, Seib hopes confidence will be high for their season-opener against Canberra Vikings on September 1.

One player Country will not have at their disposal is Bullsharks lock Zach Moimoi, who has been allocated to Brisbane City despite Bond’s partnership with Country.

The move may be a blessing for former Melbourne Storm prodigy Moimoi though, given that Country have Harry Hockings, Angus Blyth and Izack Rodda in their secondrow stocks.

City and Country have won three of the four NRC titles to date, with Perth Spirit – now rebranded the Western Force – the other victor.

The two NSW teams, the Rays and Eagles, are expected to be stronger contenders this season after streamlining to the Queensland city-country model.