The Bowral Blacks enjoyed a welcome confidence boost in the lead-up to their Vikings match this Saturday with a 29-17 win against Camden in the Spartan Cup competition.
The Blacks were in fine form in the Saturday night match at Camden, with the front-line in particular working hard to control the field and create the Blacks' scoring opportunities.
Bobby Paine, Anthony Vrljic, Baedon Terry, Tom Flemming and Joshua Spreag all contributed to the final score with one try each, while Daniel Drewe and Adam Allen converted two of the tries.
Although the Camden victory does not help the Blacks in terms of their position on the IDRU table, Blacks coach Ben Hindmarsh said the team had taken the Spartan Cup game seriously and were looking for a win.
"It was a nothing game really, but we took it pretty seriously and used it as a chance to improve our game," he said.
"They've been going well, the boys, we've had a few close games recently where it's come down to a few points difference.
"We were keen to keep that momentum going in our matches and that was the main reason we were quite keen to play the Spartan Cup match."
Hindmarsh said he was pleased to see the team make the most of their game against Camden.
"It was a good game, a fairly close game for most of it actually, (Camden's) improved since they played us in Bowral last time," he said.
"Our forward scrum performed really well, our tight forwards also had a really good game... and our backs were solid.
"We do lack a little bit of attack in the backs, that's our only criticism at the moment."
The Blacks do have a few injury concerns as a result of the match, with Adam Allen and Dave Roulton both suffering knee injuries during the game, and Josh Spreag leaving the field after a head knock.
However, Hindmarsh said the Blacks were still pretty confident of fielding a strong side when they play the fifth placed Vikings at Viking Field at 3.20pm this Saturday.