Tamworth Sporting Rugby Union Club coach Peter Burke's pride and delight was palpable, understandably, as he reflected on their 24-21 win over Robb College on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Again the Magpies found themselves trailing late in the game, and had to really grind it out, their ability to find a way to win the biggest difference between this season and last.
"Perhaps nearly all of the last three away games we might have lost last year purely through the mental culture of not understanding how to grind out a hard win," Burke said.
Fitness has also been a crucial factor, Burke touching on their capacity to still be able to perform in the last 10 minutes of the game, especially, he added, when that game is very physical.
And Saturday was that, the contest exactly what you'd expect "from two sides at the top and both desperately trying to outdo each other".
There was little between the sides all game, the Magpies scoring the first and last points.
After snatching victory on the bell in their last two games, they hit the front with a bit more time to spare on Saturday, scoring a converted try with around seven or eight minutes to play.
Then it was just a matter of holding on, and they held on well, Burke said.
Most of that time they were in the Robb half, and he said he felt if they could maintain possession and keep their discipline they could stretch their unbeaten run to five games.
READ ALSO:
Discipline was an issue throughout the game, back-to-back penalties allowing Robb to build momentum.
"The positive side of that was our defence, particularly our goal line defence, was very good," Burke said.
"Even when they scored it was from a long period of us defending our line."
He said it was a "huge" win for them.
"It was very important for the boys to go out and perform well, win, lose or draw," Burke said.
"And they certainly did play well."
Rob Creighton was a standout, his physical presence immense.
"We didn't have Jack Barker playing for us. Jack's been the cornerstone of our physical game over the last couple of years and without him Rob really stepped up," Burke said.
He also gave a special mention to hooker Nick Wiseman.
"He played a really significant link role between the forwards and backs, especially late in the game where his fitness showed," he said.
"And huge credit to the new guys in the pack Alex Barrett and Angus Cosgrove."
They both did their job "extremely well" making for a few selection headaches ahead of their home clash with Barbarians on Saturday.
Armidale secured the Invest Blue Charity Shield with a 39-17 win over Barbarians in the other game.
