The euphoria of beating Shoalhaven the previous week certainly took a large decline as the Tech Tahs blitzed the Van Goghs 20-8.

Of the 23 players who were available at home the previous week only 16 could be mustered up by coach Jamie Andrews for the away game.

The flu and a couple of serious injuries, particularly to club stalwart Cam Bendall, resulted in the Van Goghs fielding a disrupted side for this important contest.

The Tah’s opened the scoring with a long-range penalty and followed this with a try to lead 8-nil.

The Van Goghs were having trouble maintaining field position, despite the efforts of brothers Andrew, Ben and Reece Williams in the pack.

The flying Fijian George Cantarakis provided the highlight of the first half for the Van Goghs when he latched onto a great pass from his outside centre Matt Ryan and raced down the sideline outflanking the desperate Tah’s defence.

George had plenty of work to do to get to the line but he showed the value of blistering pace to score wide out.

Kane Buchanan was unable to convert the try but did kick a penalty late in the first half to keep the Van Goghs within striking distance of the Tahs.

The second half was disappointing for the Van Goghs as the forwards, led by Scott Ball in the lineouts and Rob Swan in the scrums, provided the backs with enough ball to win two games. This was exemplified by the loss of a great opportunity for the team to pull to within five points of the Tahs.

Nathaniel Lee, took a quick tap from a penalty and ran through the entire Tahs team, including the ball boy, with a illusive run, to draw the fullback and delivered a perfect pass to a flying outside centre (who shall remain nameless) who dropped it cold, five metres out from the try line.

The frustration from the coach could be seen in the sudden disappearance of his flowing red locks.

The players after the game were determined to put this setback behind them and consolidate their position in the top four with a much improved performance next Saturday against Bowral at home.

The kick off is at 2pm and this game will give all Van Gogh supporters an opportunity purchase their tickets for the ball on July 25.