By MARK CASHMAN & KAREN WATSON

Eastern Suburbs coach Pauli Taumoepeau has been careful not to bombard his players with too much “intel” as they prepare to take on the might of Sydney Uni in Round Six of the Shute Shield on Saturday.

“One of the keys is not to overload your team with what needs to be done,” Taumoepeau told Rugby News.

“You can get a bit overawed coming up against Uni and if you wanted to you could give your team 20 things that they need to worry about or execute.

“So I think one of the essentials about preparing to play a team like this is to just give the essentials about what needs to be done.

“You’ve got to ID two or three areas that limit the things that they do so well, so in short there is not any one way of getting the better of them.

“Against Uni it’s a matter of staying in the game mentally and trying to get those small wins and then being able to do that again, again and again.

“Uni are an extremely hard team to beat because they keep adjusting to what’s in front of them.

“They’re really well coached and there is always some pretty decent players in there who are pushing to get a full-time contract somewhere.

“That makes these game exciting for us and it will be a real challenge for us both physically and mentally.”

The Beasties got things back in order in Orange last weekend with a big win over the Western Sydney Two Blues after faltering against the Woods the week before.

The country air was good for them and their rookie winger Blake Rixon flashed over for four tries.

But it’s not his running with the ball in hand that will be closely examined on Saturday at Sydney Uni Football Ground.

It will be how he and Richie Woolf cope with the Uni kicking game that was so effective against Manly.

The Marlins couldn’t cope with the precision and persistence of that part of the Uni game and it’s sure to be on show against the Beasties.

Scrumhalf Banjo Travers may be second in line when Henry Robertson is available but the way that he worked his box kicks last weekend was nothing short of superb.

It’s a tactic that keeps Uni at the right end of the field and it also meant that the Marlins did not exit their half very well too often.

There was also plenty of pay down the left edge for the Students with Eddy King prominent in that area with a couple of tries and numerous breaks.

Uni coach Rob Taylor has managed to keep the same starting XV together for this game and I am sure they will pick things up from where they left them against Manly.

The Beasties midfield will play a key role if they can get any sort of front foot ball against the Students.

Rohan Saifoloi at No.10 and Nic Jooste at inside centre are coming together nicely after having an interrupted period through the trials.

“Yeah they are improving each week they are together out there,” Taumoepeau added.

Everyone has an opinion about the Sydney Uni rugby program and their “way” but it’s hard to argue against the contribution it has made to the game in NSW and more widely.

You’ve got to tip your hat to the thorough way they go about things and for the hard work that is embraced by everyone in their programs.

But on Saturday a little after 3pm there will 15 men against 15 men and the Beasties will be trying to defy the odds by just keeping it simple.