Pic 'n' Drive

15/06/2026

Seven tries -- six in the first half -- saw the Bowral Blacks return to the winners list with a 43-5 victory over Tech Tahs at Eridge Park on Saturday.

The visitors beefed up their defence in the second half and dominated possession for sustained periods, which put Bowral's scrambling defence to the test.

Blacks coach Gus Anderson said it was the nature of his side's defence that most pleased him.

"We saw an abrasiveness in defence that we haven't seen before," he said.

Time and again Tech Tahs threats were bundled into touch by two and three defenders, making for an enthralling second stanza for the local supporters.

Bowral has the bye this week before taking on Shoalhaven and Kiama at the second of those weird "Gala Days" that the IDRU has been forced to schedule in order to get a fair draw completed within the regular season time frame.

Bowral then has Kiama at home on July 4 before a dream run against Camden, Vikings and Tech Tahs all the way until the week before the finals.

Opportunity knocks for the Bowral Blacks!

01/06/2026

OK, we get it! Campbelltown Harlequins are a pretty good side, but the Bowral Blacks didn't need to play them in three of the past four matches to find that out.

Such are the bizarre circumstances of the Illawarra District Rugby Union's First Grade draw.

Bowral fought to the end but a few defensive lapses cost the visitors dearly, resulting in another Quins' victory, this time 31-21.

Bowral's Second Grade side fought back from what looked an impossible position to level the scores at 19-19 late in the second half, only to see Campbelltown kick a field goal in the last play of the match.

Since the season opening win over Vikings, Bowral Firsts have played defending premier Kiama, grand finalist Shoalhaven, and now Campbelltown three times. All of which makes it tough for the coaching staff to get these youngsters mentally up for such games.

The fact that the Blacks have shown such grit in each of those past four encounters is a credit to the team management and the club supporters have plenty to look forward to as the season progresses and the draw opens up a few more opportunities.

The King's Birthday weekend will see no local rugby this weekend, but the next game at Eridge Park on June 13 should be a beauty against Tech Waratahs, who managed to put 24 points on Shoalhaven at the weekend and now stand fifth (behind the Blacks in Fourth) on the ladder.

11/05/2026

A day of mixed fortunes for the Bowral Blacks on Saturday, with First Grade playing two games of 20-minute halves against Camden and Campbelltown in what the Illawarra District Rugby Union called a Gala Day.

First Grade took to the field against Camden as firm favourites after a couple of recent promising but disappointing results against competition front-runners Campbelltown and Kiama.

In a tough encounter, Bowral ran out 17-7 winners after dominating the second half whilst their next opponents, Campbelltown, watched on from the sideline.

With no more than 10 minutes to prepare for the second match, Bowral began strongly but the loss of a prop and scrum-half and the class of the home team proved decisive. The Quins led led 14-0 at half time, went on to record a 21-0 victory.

Bowral's Second grade had earlier overwhelmed the Camden Rams to win 25-0.

Whilst conceding that the Campbelltown First Grade side was clearly better on the day, the format of the Gala Day was decidedly unfair. The Quins had a home-ground advantage and were able to take the field fresh against a team that had already played 40 minutes of hard rugby in 25 degree heat.

This Gala Day format would work well as a pre-season tournament that would allow clubs to trial all their aspiring talent, with no competition points at stake.

But competition points were at stake. The IRDU is faced with real difficulties with a seven-team first-grade competition and a 10-team second-grade comp. At present we have representative players playing second grade because their clubs are not represented in First Grade.

Yes, the draw is a nightmare, but the integrity of the competition is sorely tested by Gala Day formats such as the one we've just seen. It was a different story in Wollongong where the remaining First Grade clubs -- Vikings, Tech Waratahs, Kiama and Shoalhaven -- all competed on equal terms on two fields where games were played simultaneously.

Another Gala Round -- this one involving all seven first-grade clubs with all but one club playing two matches -- is scheduled for June 27.

Interestingly enough, the home club, Shoalhaven, is scheduled for just one match -- against Bowral -- after the Blacks will have had just 10 minutes to recover from a game against Kiama.

That means that the two Gala Days will have seen the Blacks playing four matches, three of which will be against Top Three teams of Campbelltown, Kiama and Shoalhaven.

Go figure!

02/05/2026

A disappointing result, but the Bowral Blacks took plenty away from their 21-27 loss to Campbelltown at Eridge Park on Saturday.

A try to Campbelltown a minute before the break left Bowral trailing 0-20, but coach Gus Anderson assured his team there was plenty to play for and that victory was no pipe dream given the circumstance.

His words resonated and for the second week in a row, the Blacks won the second half -- three tries to one -- but couldn't quite do enough to take the competition points.

Ball security is a worrying problem that will need to be sorted before a return fixture against the Harlequins in Campbelltown next Saturday. Time and again ball carriers were stripped of possession at the breakdown just when Bowral's attacks seemed most threatening.

The home team's lineout was problematic but was operating functionally by the mid-point of the second half.

Goal-line defence was again impressive and the creativity of Bowral's tries, two of which came from determined chases after smart kicks, gave locals plenty to cheer as they closed to within a converted try of victory with only two minutes left to play.

21/04/2026

Not sure when the last time Illawarra District Rugby Premiers Kiama played 65 minutes without scoring a try, but that's what happened when they met the Bowral Blacks at Kiama Showground last Saturday.

It was a frustrating day for the visitors, with several blown opportunities in the first half, including a disallowed try, so going to the break 0-12 was more than an acceptable result.

Unless, of course, you were Blacks' head coach Gus Anderson, who made his displeasure known in no uncertain terms. He is not one for the halftime rant and it must have shocked the team into action, because when they changed ends, they were more than a match for the home-town favourites.

Joe Cipolla's try late in the game took Bowral to within striking distance, after Corey Martin's superb conversion in difficult windy conditions, but an even later penalty goal gave Kiama a well-earned but nervous 15-7 victory.

There is no rugby this weekend due to Anzac Day celebrations, but the Blacks will be at home for the first time in 2026 on May 2, against Campbelltown. The match will pit 2nd on the ladder against 3rd, and should be a beauty.

13/04/2026

12/04/2026

Couple of great wins by Bowral Blacks who were away to Vikings in Wollongong on Saturday.

Second grade won 14-7, despite a scrum that was pushed all over the park in the second half, and First Grade survived a few scares before running out 38-29 victors.

The Blacks have a backline in 2026, scoring with elegance and elan while defensively, they showed great character against yet another side that was much bigger and required real determination post-contact and at the breakdowns.

A dramatic tight-head scrum win with less than a minute remaining showed that this team knows when it is time to show up and play.

Blacks take on KIama in Kiama on Saturday before the club's first home game against Campbelltown on May 2.

This is a rugby club on the move and fans can be assured that results such as the one against Vikings will not be seen in isolation this season.