If the NSW Country Eagles manage to play their way into the National Rugby Championship finals this season, they’ll certainly have earned it. The Eagles face a horror schedule that will see them play three competition matches in just nine days and travel over 1500km in between. Throw in the fact that the Eagles travelled to Perth to play their opening match on Sunday and caught a red eye flight back to Sydney just hours after that match, and it’s anything but an easy start to the season. NSW Country’s opening round clash against the Sydney Rays was rescheduled to avoid a direct clash with the Shute Shield grand final. That match will be played midweek, forcing both sides to play three matches in nine days. The Rays will host all three of their matches in Sydney, but the Eagles will travel to Mudgee and Armidale on either side of a clash at Leichhardt Oval. After arriving back in Sydney in the early hours of Monday morning, NSW Country will travel to Mudgee in Ce