The NSW Waratahs have hardly been in inspiring form this year but the chance to return to the site of their 2018 triumph will spur the Bowral Blacks on this weekend.
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Bowral will play their twice washed-out fixture against Avondale on Saturday as a curtain-raiser to the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman clash between the Waratahs and Crusaders at WIN Stadium.
The fixture in Wollongong will serve as a trip down memory lane for the Blacks, who defeated Avondale 34-18 in the 2018 decider at the same venue.
Bowral sit sixth on the ladder and have struggled for consistency this campaign with injuries forcing constant shuffles in line-ups, particularly the backline. Two washed-out fixtures have also resulted in the club falling behind the pack, albeit temporarily.
However coach Greg Mumm said he hoped last week's thumping 52-29 win over Campbelltown would be a catalyst for the second half of the season.
"It's been a little frustrating but a lot of other teams are in a similar situation," Mumm told the Southern Highland News.
"The other frustrating thing for us so far this year is we've had quite a lot of disruption through injury and hopefully we're just starting to come out of that. That was exemplified on the weekend by the fact we had most of our players fit and that was reflected in the performance.
"The week before we had five changes in our backline due to players being injured or unavailable. It's something we need to have a bit more luck with...hopefully this weekend coming will actually be the first where we'll have those combinations two weeks in a row."
Despite the upheaval, the injuries have provided their fair share of opportunity. Rookie Caelan Barker has impressed on the wing while Shute Shield veteran Jared Barry has made his presence known as both a second rower and flanker.
"One of the success stories over the past two weeks is a young guy by the name of Caelan Barker who has been playing on the wing," Mumm explained.
"He's a colts player so he only played his first game in first grade against Kiama two weeks ago and he scored his first try against Campbelltown on the weekend. He's done really well for a young guy."
With this weekend's game serving as a replay of the washed-out fixtures, Bowral will again face Avondale next week.
Despite the intimidating opposition, Mumm said it presented an vital opportunity for his side to move back into finals contention.
"Avondale's ahead of us to knock them off would be important," he said.
"We've actually got them two weeks in a row now, we're playing the make-up game and then playing them for the first round game next week so if we're able to get a couple of good performances against Avondale then we're only about 10 points off that top three.
"A couple of wins back-to-back and a couple of teams above us having losses, I think we'll be in the mix. A little bit more consistency in round two [fixtures] is definitely needed."
Illawarra Rugby Union First Grade Round 1 (washed out fixture)
Avondale vs Bowral Blacks
Saturday, 29 May @ 12:20pm
WIN Stadium
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