Rugby captain Jordan Moran admitted his team did not bowl very well, but remained adamant it was still a good way to start the season.

"We've blown out a few cobwebs now and have got off to a good start," Moran said.

Michael Kempston batted a 50 in the first few hours of the match, remaining one of the highlights of the day.

Along with Moran, Kempston put 198 on the second wicket, while Macquarie's Zac Murphy and Jason Coyle chased 220. Kempston was bowled out by Macquarie's Chad O'Brien on 83.

Moran said Macquarie's Daniel Medway and Ben Hunt both used two-sided bowling to their advantage.

He said new Rugby recruit Harry Kempston did not get an opportunity to bat.

"At training, we haven't bowled nearly enough as we would've liked. That's something we definitely have to work on before our match against the Souths on Saturday," Moran said.

He said Dubbo Souths could beat any side on their day and would be worthy competitors.

Macquarie captain Jason Green said his team batted very well, taking what they learned during training to practice.

"The team partnered up pretty well, and I'm impressed that they were able to get 222 on the wicket... it was a good score to end the match with," he said.

He said the team bowled on both sides of the wicket, but Rugby still "batted them out of the game".

Kempston, Moran and Murphy, he said, were three Rugby players that stuck out as the most competitive against Macquarie.

"Moran, Kempston and Murphy were the three stand-outs of Macquarie... Moran batted the best out of the Rugby side,"?he said.

"We had so many players out injured, and that was quite worrying before we started the game."

Macquarie's NSW Country quick-bowler Declan Hall was out because of a recent burn injury, and it was unclear when he will resume playing.

Green named Jeremy Dickson as a significant loss to the team, as he and Hall were two of the team's best bowlers.

"We had Cody Hannelly and Chad O'Brien to step in on Saturday, but they'll have to go back to second-grade next week," he said.

He also said batsman and bowler Ben Hunt's knees had started to flare up, and depending on how he was, may need to sit out the next game.

anthony.cini@ruralpress.com