After being kings of the Australian National Field Days Cup northern division for several years the Wombats know they are now Blowes Clothing Cup minnows.

On Saturday the Wombats travel to Forbes for their first run back in the top tier of Central West rugby and captain Rupert Sheridan said his side were buoyed by excitement. 

“We’re looking forward to the challenge. The boys, if anything, are more excited about the step up from last year which will be good for them. Other than we are trying to keep fit for the season,” Sheridan said.

Sheridan was appointed captain by coach Justin Sutherland at Wombats training on Tuesday for his leadership qualities and level head. 

“Bluey [Sutherland] asked and I thought why not? I’ve only been at the club for 18 months but I had a good season with the Wombats last year and it’s going to be a challenging year and I like challenges so it should be interesting,” he said.

Although Mudgee Rugby Union returns to Blowes Clothing Cup on the eve of the club’s 140th anniversary, Sheridan he didn’t feel a weight of expectation.

“I don’t really feel an expectation on myself. It’s about keeping fit and playing good rugby. This year it’s the next level up and we’re all looking forward to it. Obviously the 140-year anniversary is a big occasion and it will be in the back of our minds,” he said.

Sheridan describes his captaining style as “fair” and lets the rugby do the talking.

“To be fair and inform them what the referee is talking about. Good, clean, hard rugby is the way to lead from the front. I don’t do too much talking on the field and hopefully the rugby will talk for itself. 

“You can be out there all day chirping your backside off but if you are not walking the walk no one is going to follow you.” 

Several Wombats were lucky enough to witness the Central West Blue Bulls play at the NSW Country Rugby Championships in Mudgee over the weekend and now know the calibre of players they’re up against. 

“We got out there to support Dave [Jessiman] and were lucky enough to watch the Blue Bulls play on Saturday. There was a lot of talent in the backline and the looseheads dominated the game really so when we come around to playing those boys we’re going to have to be on our best game there,” Sheridan said.

He was unsure about what kind of game Forbes would bring on Saturday but said for sides it will be about ironing out errors. 

“It’s the first game of the season so we want to blow any cobwebs out. We played well against Dubbo and the lead up matches against Gunnedah and Norths. Saturday is really about getting a taste of the Blowes Cup again,” he said.

“In the last month or so there’s been some good numbers at training and we’ll look to step up and give it a go.”

The Wombats’ first Blowes Clothing Cup home game will be against Cowra on April 12.