NSW Country Championships: Central West’s Caldwell Cup redemption seals stunning double
By Matt Findlay
Central West secured their Caldwell Cup redemption at Tamworth’s Scully Park on Sunday afternoon, hammering reigning champions Illawarra to flip last year’s decider result and seal NSW Country Rugby Union’s most-coveted prize.
The Blue Bulls, who were forced to send out an 11th hour call to arms after a litany of injuries in the week leading up the championships, were utterly dominant in the decider, shooting to a 31-nil lead and eventually winning 45-21.
The Blue Bulls stamped their authority immediately with former NSW Country Cockatoo Filisione Pauta’s third-minute try and never looked troubled after that.
Pauta scored again on the stroke of half-time after Joe Nash, Mahe Fangupo and Lachie Harris had all crossed the stripe too, by then the writing was well and truly on the wall.
“It was just absolutely clinical in that first half,” Central West skipper and former Randwick gun Mark Baldwin said after the win.
“There wasn’t too errors