Chris Dutton June 02, 2012
They'll be tired and bruised, but ACT representative flyhalf Angus McKerchar is confident Canberra's top premier division players will power through their second game in 24 hours when they play today.
The best players in Canberra were in Melbourne last night to lead the ACT Griffins to a 43-15 victory over Victoria at AAMI Park.
Just hours after their tight win, the players flew back to the capital to fulfil their club commitments in the John I Dent Cup today.
Despite the heavy workload, the players insist two games in two separate cities in less than a day will not affect them.
The Tuggeranong Vikings will be the heaviest hit team with 10 of their players earning selection in the ACT side.
They will back up against Royals at Phillip while McKerchar and scrumhalf Peter Raines will play for Wests against bottom of the ladder Easts at Griffith Oval.
''The Brumbies provide us with the ice baths and physios so they give us the best opportunity to be able to back up,'' McKerchar said.
''It's great to play alongside some of the great players in the competition.''
The Griffins ran away to an easy win over Victoria.
They scored four tries in the final 15 minutes to secure a 28-point triumph.
ACT Brumbies coach Jake White has put a greater emphasis on Canberra's representative program this year. The Griffins are viewed as a launching pad for players hoping to rise into Super Rugby.
McKerchar was sandwiched between Tuggeranong's Beau Mokotupu and Rodney Iona at AAMI Park. Two weeks ago it was Mokotupu and Iona who led a Vikings rampage to beat Wests 40-28.
The Vikings are comfortably leading the competition and have scored 322 points in their six matches while conceding just 76.
McKerchar said the flaws in Wests' game were exposed by the Vikings - particularly at the breakdown - and the team was determined to make amends.
Wests are wary of an ambush after their bye last week.
''We've probably been able to get away with a few things against other teams, but Tuggeranong found some weaknesses which we need to fix,'' McKerchar said.
ACT GRIFFINS 43 (D Fanning 2, T Murday, P Leafa, A Barrel, M Hawke, J Turner tries; A McKerchar 4 conversions) bt VICTORIA 15 at AAMI Park, Melbourne.