Barrow Raiders head coach Paul Crarey says his side can take confidence from their performance against Toulouse Olympique, despite falling to a 34-10 defeat in the South of France.
The Raiders were well beaten by full-time opposition at Albi’s Stade Mazicou, despite Andrew Bulman going over for a try in either half.
Saturday’s defeat marked the end of a busy week for the Raiders, who had a short turnaround following their 23-22 Cumbrian derby victory at Whitehaven on Monday night.
“It was a strong performance,” Crarey said post-match.
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“I thought we played some fantastic rugby and scored a fantastic try at the start of the game. We put some good stuff together, and Shane Toal and Andrew Bulman terrorised the right edge of theirs.
“There were a couple of lapses of concentration, which you’re going to get against a full-time team on a short turnaround.”
There’s no time to dwell for the Raiders, who remain a point ahead of second-bottom Swinton Lions in the fight for survival with four games left to play.
Up next is a trip to Keighley Cougars on Sunday – with a win potentially giving Crarey’s squad an almighty boost in their battle to avoid the drop, given the Cougars are just a place and point below them in the league table.
“We’ll think about Keighley on Wednesday. We’re going to let the lads have a little bit of downtime,” Crarey added.
“We need to get back on it in preparation for them. We’ve got to be nice and smart when we go to Keighley – their fans will make it a hostile environment.
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“We’ve got to go there and do a number because they’re fighting for their lives as well.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge. There’s nothing between a lot of sides in the Championship, but we’ve got to be better in certain areas.
“We can be a little bit smarter, but I’m so proud of the players and the way they’ve conducted themselves over the last few weeks.
“We’re looking forward to the run-in. I’d rather be in our situation than some of the clubs around us, and we’ve got a great opportunity to kick on and seal our place in the Championship.”
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