By Adam Shelden

Souths head coach Rama Chand says this weekend’s Hospital Cup fixture against Bond University at home is the most important game in his club’s season so far, adding his players understand the significance of the clash, which will be “played like a final.”

With five rounds still to play in the season, Souths sit fourth on 33 points – six clear of fifth-placed Bond, who have a game in hand and arguably a more favourable run home.

While a win would give Chand’s side some much-needed breathing room, a loss could bring Bond – and other challengers like GPS and UQ – right back into the top-four conversation.

“This one’s not just another game,” Chand told Rugby News.

“We’re fourth, they’re fifth, and we’re both chasing that fourth finals spot. It’s like a double-points game: if we win, we not only gain points ourselves but deny Bond points too, and vice versa.

“We know they’ll target this match, and honestly, after our loss to Wests last week, we’re viewing it the same way – a must-win final.”

With a “season-defining” clash about to take place, Chand said his message to his players was straightforward.

“It’s that this game matters more. We have to rise to the occasion, execute our game plan, and understand how important it is for our finals hopes,” he said.

“We know we can do damage when we get quality ball. So, it’s about being accurate, executing, and backing ourselves when the chances come.

“We’ve been competitive with everyone this year – we just haven’t consistently put it all together.

“But when we’re in control of the game and not letting the opposition dictate, we’re tough to stop. That’s the focus this week: play our game, on our terms, and do it better than Bond.”

Souths forward pack will need to be at its best against a Bond outfit that can match any side in the competition for attack – Wests aside – when they are on. 

“Bond are a team that likes to use the ball and it doesn’t matter where they are on the field, they will use the ball and run. They are a confidence team,” Souths head coach said.

“We can be one of the toughest packs – lineout, scrum and the maul. But the reality is, we’ve got a big job to overpower Bond up front and really dominate that area so we get quality ball to go forward.”

He added that while Bond captain and centre Tyler Campbell was an obvious threat, it was the all-round balance of the Bull Sharks that made them dangerous.

“They’ve got a pretty balanced pack – their scrum’s been going well, their maul’s strong, and they’ve got a bit of mobility in the back row,” Chand said.

“Whether they can match us physically, we’ll find out.”

Saturday’s clash will also pit two tactically astute coaches against one another, with Chand relishing the opportunity to go head-to-head against Hospital Cup supercoach Mick Heenan.

“I have huge respect for Mick,” Chand said.

“We caught up after our last game and just talked about club rugby and the challenges of coaching in the competition. He’s someone who has had so much success in the competition.

“I love coaching and going against coaches that are genuine coaches. He loves the game, so he’s certainly one of those guys.”

Last time out, Heenan got the better of Chand – in round five – with Bond winning 29-21. Chand said the game provided a “reality check” for his squad and added they had learnt from the game.

“I think we were on top of the ladder and Bond were last at the time and we got rolled. We just didn’t turn up with the right mindset,” he said.

“That game taught us that anyone can beat anyone in this comp if you’re not mentally on.

“For now, all we can do is focus on this game against a Bond team that is coming for us, and we’re excited for the challenge at home.”