Rams Lay It All on the Line for Table-Topping Melbourne
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RAMS LAY IT ALL ON THE LINE FOR TABLE-TOPPING MELBOURNE Thursd ay 9th October, 2014 The PCS Greater Sydney RAMS can leave nothing in the tank as they face competition heavyweights, Melbourne Rising, in their final round match of the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship this Saturday at Pirtek Stadium. With their bye still to come in the final round of the season next weekend, the equation is simple for the RAMS: they must beat the Rising just to remain in contention for the NRC playoffs. Precariously placed in fourth spot on the NRC table on for-and-against, the RAMS are on equal points with the third-placed Perth Spirit, and the fifth-placed Brisbane City. Such is the closeness of mid-table teams, the RAMS could finish Round 8 as high as second, or as low as seventh. After making sweeping changes last week before his side’s impressive 56-29 win over Brisbane City, RAMS head Coach Brian Melrose has been able to name a largely unchanged side for the clash with the dominant team of the NRC. Fresh from taking on Argentina in Mendoza last weekend, Wallabies prop Benn Robinson has been welcomed back into the RAMS side he played with in the first four rounds of the NRC. Robinson will pack down alongside Peni Ravai and tighthead prop Guy Millar, who will become the only RAMS player to have started all eight games this season. Jed Holloway has recovered from a back strain, and will come back into the side at lock, alongside Dylan Sigg. The backrow remains unchanged, with Hugh Perrett retaining the captaincy, Man of the Match against Brisbane City last Friday night, Chris Alcock, and no.8 Pat Sio. RAMS Director of Rugby John Manenti spoke of the importance of Robinson and Holloway’s return to the side, for such an important match: “Benn Robinson was outstanding for us in his pre-Wallabies Tour games, and though we’ve been delighted with the form of Jed Gillespie and being able to bring in a guy with his experience and scrum knowledge, and he’s contributed really well, we’re obviously excited to have Robbo back. “Jed Holloway, obviously coming back off a niggly injury, and he was in great form in the early part of the season, so he’s back and fresh and really keen to make a positive contribution. “Hugh Perrett is a strong leader, and with Jed coming back from injury we don’t want to over-burden him with more than he needs to worry about at this stage. We’ll just let him concentrate on playing and ripping in, and against a very formidable pack he’s going to have to be very good, so we just felt that leaving the captaincy with Hugh frees Jed up to play like he’ll need to.” Scrumhalf Mark Swanepoel has come back into the starting side, while Ben Volavola remains at flyhalf after a strong performance and seven from seven conversions last week. The midfield and outside backs are also unchanged, with centres Henry Taefu and Henry Seavula lining up with the back three of Tom Hill, Jarome Mackenzie, and fullback Ben Batger. Loosehead prop Jed Gillespie and lock Steve Mafi drop back to the bench in the reshuffle, while Jai Ayoub comes back onto the bench in place of Vasa Faleali’i. The enormity of the challenge in facing the overwhelming NRC frontrunners is obvious, but one that Manenti said the RAMS are relishing. “Look at their team, it’s very strong, and obviously their form guide is red hot. They’ve got threats all over the park; their set piece is strong, they’ve got great halves, great centres, dominant ball-carriers. There’s no question we’re going to have to put in our best performance of the season if we’re going to challenge. Everything is sort of leaning that way for us, and our form guide is improving, but we’re very confident we can give them a contest.” The RAMS-Melbourne Rising match at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta kicks off at3:00pm AEST. FREE MEMBERSHIP is still available via www.ramsrugby.com.au, with access to discount tickets through Ticketmaster. PCS Greater Sydney RAMS side to face Melbourne Rising at Pirtek Stadium,Saturday 11 October 2014: #POSITION FULL NAME 1. LOOSEHEAD PROP Benn Robinson 2. HOOKER Peni Ravai 3. TIGHTHEAD PROP Guy Millar 4. LEFT LOCK Jed Holloway 5. RIGHT LOCK Dylan Sigg 6. BLINDSIDE FLANKER Hugh Perrett (C) 7. OPENSIDE FLANKER Chris Alcock 8. NUMBER EIGHT Pat Sio 9. SCRUMHALF Mark Swanepoel 10. FLYHALF Ben Volavola 11. LEFTWING Tom Hill 12. INSIDE CENTRE Henry Taefu 13. OUTSIDE CENTRE Henry Seavula 14. RIGHT WING Jarome MacKenzie 15. FULLBACK Ben Batger REPLACEMENTS 16. RESERVE Hugh Roach 17. RESERVE Jed Gillespie 18. RESERVE Dave Lolohea (FR) 19. RESERVE Steve Mafi 20. RESERVE Michael Kovacic 21. RESERVE Jai Ayoub 22. RESERVE Apolisi Latunipulu 23. RESERVE Dane Chisholm RAMS on Facebook RAMS on Twitter RAMS on Instagram Share Tweet Forward.