The red and greens were boosted by a pair of phenomenal individual efforts as fullback Drew Cini and lock Matthew Hundy were both monstrous throughout the round seven showdown.

The 17-year-old Cini defused bomb after bomb and charged every kick back with pace, while Hundy made 32 tackles with 20 runs to-boot.

The duo encapsulates what this year’s Waratahs side is about as its got a healthy mix of youth and maturity in 2018.

“Drew (Cini) has been great for us since coming over from the Dragons,” Kandos coach Glen Osgood said.

“He got whacked a handful of times on Saturday but he kept coming and coming. It was unreal to watch.”

As it so often does at home, Kandos opened Saturday’s match with enthusiasm, scoring a pair of tries in the opening exchanges.

The 12-0 lead was short-lived as Orange hit back with a four-pointer and looked to edge closer after Jake Humphreys was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul just five minutes before half time.

As it turned out, the one-man advantage didn’t come to pass for the travelling Barbarians as the home side scored back-to-back tries with just 12 men.

Kandos stretched its lead to 30-12 after Tyrone Lyvidikos crashed over but the Barbarians had plenty more to say, running in three tries in the final ten minutes as skipper Ben Gosper capped off his massive day with a hat-trick.

With 30 seconds left, Orange took hold of the kick-off and looked to mount one final charge when the Waratahs produced a game-changing tackle, forcing a knock-on and escaping with the two competition points.

As miraculous as the win was, Kandos still sits fifth on the ladder as Portland holds fourth position on for and against points.

The Waratahs play the Colts after the long weekend bye and Osgood knows that match will likely determine the last finals spot.

“They will really want to give it to us this time around so we need to be at our best when we go to their place,” he said.

“The next two weeks are so important for us. The boys know that.”

Blackheath added to its impressive campaign with a 24-14 win over CSU at Diggings Oval.

The win was the Blackcats’ least convincing of the season as the students gave the competition favourites a massive challenge.

Portland maintained its spot in fourth with a 62-10 drumming of the winless Lithgow Bears.

Round eight: Blackheath Blackcats vs. Orange Barbarians, Portland Colts vs. Kandos Waratahs, CSU Mungoes vs. Lithgow Bears.