On Saturday the Walcha Rams fought courageously in a last gasp (14-13) loss to the Inverell Highlanders. In wet, greasy conditions the Rams went out looking to redeem a narrow loss in the first round to Inverell. The boys were fully aware of the task that lay ahead with Inverell at full strength for probably the first time this season. The heavy track favoured the visitors, that fielded a pack that looked to be more ‘Clydesdale’ compared to our ‘thoroughbreds’. And if conditions were firmer our ‘sprinters’ could well have outstretched their ‘stayers’ ( Inverell forwards) down the final straight. The game developed into an arm wrestle early with neither side able to grab a clear advantage in the early exchanges. The dead lock was broken with a try to the highlanders, but Walcha looked to have a bit more flair in attack and crossed the visitors line out wide with Steve ‘Dizzy’ Eveleigh grabbing a ‘meat pie’. Walcha couldn’t add the sauce from a difficult conversion attempt. At half time ‘brains trust’ (Barry Hoy and Andrew Crawford), stressed to the boys if they could limit their handling errors in the second half, then that would go a long way to winning the match. And as the sun peaked its nose through the grey abyss, the momentum swung towards the home side. Walcha started to control possession and with it came some great forward play and ball retention. A good bust and offload by B2 (Lachie Brown) sent the English member of the UN delegation to Walcha (Stevie Harwood) scurrying over the try line, to create a 10-7 lead over Inverell. The Welsh member of the delegation(Gwylim Evans) and Jason Latham again continued to put Walcha at the right end of the field with penetrating kicks and constant pressure , which resulted in points with a penalty goal to ‘Dizzy’ Eveleigh.However the ‘fat lady’ had not yet sung and Inverell managed to steal the game with a late try and conversion for a 14-13 win. There were some great efforts across the park. Jock Fletcher looked as if he may have overdosed on his angry pills, as he pulled off countless “beaut” big hits. Ciaran O’Gorman was a constant menace to his former side, where his mobility was a great complement to B1 and B2s (Luke and Lachie Brown) devastating running. Ed Churchill, Steve Eveleigh and Richard Young all shone in difficult conditions for backs. Try Scorers: Stevie Harwood, Steve Eveleigh and one conversion. Points: 3 Ciaran O’Gorman 3, Ed Churchill 2 and Steve Eveleigh 1. Players’ player Jock ‘Hammer’ Fletcher.