One week after snaring a victory in a top-of-the-table thriller, the Walcha Rams showed no signs of backing off against a win-less Glen Innes Elks outfit.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
To come down from the high of winning a nail-biter against highly-faniced Tamworth to then facing a bottom-of-the-table side would be a tough ask for most teams but the Rams continued with their intensity which impressed coach Hyde Thomson.
"It was an issue for us that we worked on," Thomson said of the side mentally rising to the task.
RELATED:
"It was just a matter of just getting into your mind 'this is a job that has got to be done, try and do it as good as you can.'
"It would have been a really bad game to lose, if we did lose it."
Walcha put their foot down early and showed no signs of slowing up.
In atrocious conditions - from patches of sun to snow and sleet - the Rams eventually ran in 10 tries to the Elks' one to finish 58-5 victors.
Walcha now sit on top of the New England Rugby Union table with a one point buffer over Tamworth.
Their points differential is also the highest in the competition - +123 - but Thomson said creating a further buffer wasn't on their minds heading into the Elks' fixture.
"We thought that would happen if we played well, that was the main thing - play well and the points would come," he said.
"It was a really good first-half considering the conditions.
"Big thing today [Saturday] was to not play their game, make them play our game and I think we did that for the majority of the game today."
The Rams' defence has been solid all season but Thomson has been critical of their ability to give away too many penalties.
"Today as a good day but then again we had four or five penalties in a row and they scored a try," he said.
"The guys are realising that is an issue and they are working on it."
For the Elks, player-coach Tom Benton was proud of the effort but conceded they're still lacking polish.
"We walked the ball forward when we wanted to, turned it over and had some really good set running phases," he said.
"We put a try on them, we attacked and did what we wanted to do but, unfortunately, they [Walcha] are just fit and moved the ball to where it needed to be and punched through the line.
"For what we are coming up against, a lot of players out and not ideal conditions, I feel fairly happy with everyone.
"Everyone had a proper go."