Brisbane City go down in NRC opener

UC Vikings took the early ascendency on the ladder and players such as Henry Speight and Luke Morahan asserted their intentions for a national jersey, with impressive performances that saw both of them score two tries each.

Morahan's double helped secure the 20-16 win for the Perth Spirit, despite being outmuscled at the scrum by the powerful Melbourne Rising outfit.

The Sydney Rays enjoyed a bonus-point 50-30 win over the Western Sydney Rams, scoring three converted tries in the opening 14 minutes, with both teams showing scintillating flair in attack throughout the game.

Reigning champions Brisbane City went down in a hard-fought match against Country Eagles. 

The Eagles overcame three yellow cards and a fast-finishing Brisbane City side, to secure an impressive 22-12 win over the back-to-back reigning NRC champions.

In the final match of the opening round, the Canberra Vikings flexed their muscles to take the early lead at the top of the table with a 58-20 win. 

The UC Vikings dominated a young Queensland Country team that, despite having Wallabies lock Rob Simmons, had few answers for the Vikings' Super Rugby-laden forwards pack.

Round One Results:

Saturday, August 27

Country Eagles 22 - 12 Brisbane City 

The scorers:

For Country Eagles:

Tries: Hanigan, Newsome, Needs

Cons: Deegan 2

For Brisbane City:

Tries: Strachan, Beauchamp

Cons: Russell 2

Perth Spirit 20 - 16 Melbourne Rising

For Perth Spirit:

Tries: Morahan 2, Havili

Cons: Lance 

For Melbourne Rising:

Tries: Jeffries, Reid

Cons: Debreczeni 2

Saturday, August 28

Sydney Rays 50 - 30 Western Sydney Rams

The scorers:

For the Sydney Rays: 

Tries: Woolf 2, Fitzpatrick, Jones, Dempsey, Simone, Roos

Cons: Sinclair 4

For the Western Sydney Rams:

Tries: Paenga-Amosa 2, Tufui, Allen

Cons: Asquith 3, Nikoro

Country 20 - 58 Vikings

The scorers:

For the Country:

Tries: Banks 2, Perese

Con: Mason 

For the Vikings:

Tries: Dargaville 2, Arnold 2, Speight 2, Abel, Jackson-Hope

Cons: Jooste 5

2016 NRC Round One Standings:

1. Vikings - 5 points

2. Sydney Rays - 5 points

3. Eagles - 4 points

4. Perth Spirit - 4 points

5. Melbourne Rising - 1 point

6. Brisbane - City 0 points

7. Western Sydney Rams - 0 points

8. Queensland Country - 0 points

Round 2 Fixtures:

Friday, September 2 - Sydney Rays v Perth Spirit, North Sydney Oval, 18.30 AEST, 

Saturday, September 3 - Brisbane City v Western Sydney Rams, Ballymore Stadium, 15.00 AEST

Sunday, September 4 - Melbourne Rising v Country, Harlequin Oval, Melbourne, 13.00 AEST

Sunday, September 4 - Canberra Vikings v Country Eagles, Viking Park, 15.00 AEST