WHEN it comes to rugby union Bathurst remains blue and gold.
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Bathurst Bulldogs pushed their winning streak over cross-city rivals CSU beyond the five-year mark on Saturday thanks to a mammoth 71-5 win at University Oval.
Bulldogs were rarely troubled in their eighth win of the season, overcoming some patches of trouble in the first half to pile on the pain for the hosts after the break.
Bulldogs coach Nathan Pearce was pleased with the way his side played through most of the match.
The biggest disappointment in the crushing win? Letting CSU score.
“You can’t afford to let anyone in that easily. It doesn’t matter who your opposition is,” he said.
“The score though was not indicative of how strong the uni guys were across the park.”
The biggest positive for the Bulldogs mentor was once again his team’s depth.
Against their cross-city rivals Pearce was ready to put it to the test.
“We brought all our players in off the bench in the last 20 minutes. It was great to see them carry on with the job the guys before them had done,” he said.
“We’ve got to keep our guys as fresh as possible so we’ve got to use the bench wisely.”
Nine different players found the try line for Bulldogs, Alex Weal and Josh Oxley managing to do so twice each.
Among the try scorers was Adam Geal in his last match for the Bathurst club. He also picked up two goals.
The English player has been a pivotal part of the Bulldogs club on and off the field according to Pearce.
“It was a fitting farewell for a player who has done so much for the club,” he said.
“He had creativity in attack and has been steadfast in defence. He’s been a great character at the club as well. He will be sorely missed.”
Even when the gap was starting to widen Pearce was proud of the way his men didn’t take the foot off the pedal.
“One of the real weaknesses we’ve had all year has been the kick-off, in general. In this game Peter Fitzsimmons got onto the first one and it was a really positive way for us to start the game,” he said.
“We have one of the strongest forward packs in Central West rugby at the moment and I want to see us make use of it.
“I thought we did really well in the lineouts, and putting the pressure on there was one of the key areas that won us the game.
“In the second quarter of the game we dropped off in energy level. Our second half was really strong though, and our defensive structure remained strong.”