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MID North Coast Axemen have taken another step toward a full return to representative rugby by trialling against Queensland teams on the weekend. Zone administrator Des Hoy reported both open grade and under-19 squads made the trip, timed to coincide with visiting the Wallabies versus the Springboks Test match at Ballymore. The boys played two games each and while the under-19s were the only squad to crack it for a win, the experience will be valuable for next years representative campaign, he said. The juniors lost 23-19 on Friday night to Gold Coast Eagles after leading 12-7 at the break. Next morning they backed up to record a good win, 36-7 over Sunnybank, which was a good effort after the quick turnaround, Hoy said. If theyd won their first game there would have been some extra time to recover. But when they get to Country Week, thats what could happen and theyre going to learn a lot from this about how to forget about losing one and getting back on track quickly for their next game. Matt Spence was best of the Coffs players and the opposition always had a tough job handling his strength and speed once he got through the gaps. In both senior matches, Coffs Rugbys loose forwards David Kikau and Vilese Vatuvili continued their superb club form and were the pick of the touring forwards. We lost 12-7 to Gold Coast Eagles in the first match, mainly because we couldnt handle the pace they hit us with at the start, Hoy explained. Late in the match our forwards started making inroads and with the hard heads taking control we were able to restrict their scoring. Coming back on Saturday against Queensland University the boys skipped ahead 19-10 in the early stages with Dave (Kikau) best player on the paddock when he switched to No 8. But when he left the field, unfortunately we began making mistakes and eventually went down 24-19. I guess it goes back to training sessions ... that get you fit enough to step up to another level. Last weekends club round was suspended for the northern excursion and both Coffs Harbour teams will again be on the road this Saturday. Coffs Crushers head south to Stuart Park to tackle undefeated Port Pirates while Coffs Breakers will visit South West Rocks Gaolers.

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