Bowral travelled to face Uni on Saturday, one of the top teams in the competition.

Neither first nor second grade finished with a win, but the close scorelines were an encouraging sign for the season ahead.

In first grade, the Blacks went down 28-14 with tries to George Harrison and Henry Yuill.

Harrison was a standout for Bowral, continuing to play after cutting his head.

Bowral also had two tries disallowed, one just before halftime.

The score was 7-7 at the break and first grade coach Gene Fairbanks said had the try been given; it could have been a different result.

But despite the loss, Fairbanks said the result was a huge improvement from where Bowral was last year.

"It was a real improvement from where the guys were at. They executed on all the little things I asked of them in terms of defence and work ethic," he said.

"Our structure looked really good and we started to look like a good football team."

Fairbanks said looking to the coming weeks, the Blacks need to improve on fitness and decision making towards the end of the match when players became fatigued.

Try scorer Henry Yuill was another strong performer for Bowral and Fairbanks said Steve Strode at blindside flanker carried the ball well and made a great cover tackle that resulted in a turnover penalty for the Blacks.

This week, Bowral will be back at home against one of the other top teams in the competition Avondale.

It will be another tough assignment but Fairbanks was confident Bowral would provide a competitive match for the home fans.

"It's a good marker for us to see how we go. The boys were disappointed with the loss; they know we can match it with anybody now."

In second grade, Bowral went down 31-17 but again coach Pete Burt said there were plenty of positive signs.

Nick Waugh and Jack Parsons scored for Bowral.

"It was good to compete for the full 80 minutes," Burt said.

"I was pretty impressed with the guys, many of them haven't trained a lot together."

Burt said Bowral's scrum was strong on Saturday but the Blacks needed to work on lineouts and being more efficient at the breakdown.

Up against tough competition in Avondale this weekend, Burt said he hoped the team would again put together a good 80 minutes of football which would enable them to be a competitive side.

He said former Wallaby Al Kanaar had joined the coaching team and his experience proved invaluable on the weekend to all players.

Fairbanks encouraged Highlanders to head on down to Eridge Park on Saturday and enjoy some competitive rugby.

With the new clubhouse complete, he said it offered a great view of the game.

"We're creating a bit of an atmosphere where we play football that people want to see."

Second grade will start at 1.30pm and first grade kick off will be 3pm.

The Blacks will have the next three matches at home.