RUGBY UNION
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Reigning premiers Camden finally had all hands on deck in Saturday's 45-6 trouncing of Tech Waratahs at Saunders Oval.
Armed with the poise, purpose and precision which - hallmarks of last year's title-winning team - the Rams absorbed Tech Tahs' strongest punch to patiently build a 14-6 lead.
Two tries in the final eight minutes of the first half pushed the margin out to a 26-6 lead at the break.
The visitors notched their fifth try early in the second half, burying any faint hopes Tech Tahs had about an improbable comeback.
"Tech probably aren't where they were a few years ago but they're a good, hard team to play against and they play it in the right way," Camden coach Brendan Schoupp said.
"If I was other teams I wouldn't be taking them lightly throughout the year. They've got a bit of experience there, so it was a good result for us.
"I was really happy with the way we played the game. It was a good step forward."
After being without their NSW Country players for most of the season, the Rams relished being at full strength on Saturday.
"It was the first time all year that the coaching group and the playing group's been together. We put our strongest side on the park all year," Schoupp added.
"There were things that we could improve on, but it was just important that we got back together and had a good performance.
"One of the most pleasing things was the way we read the defence really well and we didn't leak any tries.
"It was important that we got back to our structures and the way we play the game. We're not too far off where we finished last year."
Schoupp is pushing his side to pick up the pace.
"We're all about building for next week against Shamrocks and having a three or four-week block where we get maximum points," he said.
"We've had a couple of players come to the club and they've fitted in quite well, but there's always areas to improve. There's a bit of extra pressure with a top four as opposed to a top five, and it's going to be pretty tight for that fourth spot."
Kiama broke a four-game losing slide with a 54-26 road win over Bowral.