'Did they want it to be a night where they competed with Farrer or did they want it to be a night where they beat Farrer?'
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That was the message Armidale junior rugby union coach Jason Walker gave his side in the pouring rain at half-time in their under 18 clash against a very strong Farrer Memorial Agricultural High First XV team on Friday night.
Down 5-nil at the break, the Armidale side dug their heels in throughout the second-half and it paid dividends.
With five minutes left on the clock, Shuaib Rhodes-Swain scored in the corner to draw level with Farrer.
That left Grayson Te Moana, the son of Armidale and NSW Country representative Mike Te Moana, the challenging task of slotting the conversion from the sideline.
He nailed it and the Armidale side won the match 7-5.
"Then we managed to hang on in the last five minutes under severe pressure," Walker told The Armidale Express.
"When the referee blew the whistle, everyone broke down in disbelief and emotion for what the boys have achieved."
This year the Armidale junior side has doubled their wins from the previous two seasons of the regional competition which features sides from schools and clubs across the New England and Central North Zones.
The Armidale side came together nearly three years ago with only one player - Walker's son Bradman - having any rugby union experience.
They're made up of a mixture of students from Armidale Secondary College, O'Connor Catholic College and Guyra Central School.
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Their first season together in 2018, they didn't win a game.
Last year they managed to score a win in their final match of the season.
This year, the team - dubbed 'the Mighty Mongrels' for their tenacity and lack of rugby experience - has won two out of their three opening matches, including the memorable one against Farrer.
"After Farrer firsts had defeated TAS Firsts 20-5 some of the comments were 'how big is this cricket score going to be?' and of course, our boys played out of their skin, shut down the better-structured Farrer team," Walker said.
"It was totally unexpected and no one gave Armidale under 18s any chance."
Their next test will be this Friday against the undefeated Quirindi side and Walker is hoping they haven't played their grand final already.
"We will know if we are the real deal this week or it was just a fluke," he said.
"We will know after this Friday whether we are chance of making the semi-finals of the regional Friday night competition."