By Henry Jacobs Melbourne Rising has opened its 2015 National Rugby Championship campaign with a 39-31 win over Queensland Country at Bond University Rugby Field on Sunday. In a high scoring affair the mix of experience and youth from last year’s minor premiers saw it through 20 minutes with only 14 players on the field, to retain the inaugural Horan-Little Shield. With eleven Melbourne Rebels contracted players in the starting team, the Rising was too strong for a Country lineup boasting six Reds and former Wallaby Radike Samo, in a closely fought encounter. “We’re really happy with the boys effort yesterday and it puts a line in the sand for where we’re sitting early in the comp, but disappointed to have dropped a game at the start of the season,” QLD Country coach Jason Gilmore said. “Sam [Greene] played well, he had a pretty good club season and has continued his form into the first round . . . he was really helped out by our forward pack, they were pretty strong u