NSW coach Chris Hickey says the Waratahs are in a strong position after six weeks of the Super 14 competition despite inconsistent form over the past fortnight.
Coming off a club record 73-12 scoreline with 11 tries over the Lions, The Tahs were forced to grind out a victory against the winless Western Force in Perth on Saturday night.
The Waratahs managed just one try and kicked two penalties in the second half to stave off a determined Force attack.
But the wins mean the Waratahs have 18 points with four wins from six games this season ahead of two home games.
Hickey was delighted to leave Perth with the hard-fought win.
"Some weeks you do have to grind out tough wins and they are important in the competition. We are happy to come away with the four points even though there's certain areas of the game that we can go away and work on. I'm very happy to take the points away out of that game," Hickey said.
"Some weeks you win on the back of scoring tries and other weeks it's on the back of strong defence. I thought both teams defended really well and that was reflected on the scoreboard. In the last 10 minutes we were under a fair bit of pressure and it was pleasing that our defence held up."
Hickey knows how important the win was in the context of the season with games against the Blues, Cheetahs and then away to the Crusaders before the bye.
He said the Waratahs could put themselves in a strong position for semi-final action.
"Every week you've got to get those points to make sure you consolidate your place on the ladder and this was a really important game for us because we now go home to two home matches," Hickey said.
"If we can take wins out of those it will put us in a good position at the halfway mark of the competition. If we can walk away with four points from this game and get a couple of other wins at home that will replace us reasonably well at the halfway mark."
Captain Phil Waugh was delighted with his team's defensive effort to hold out a determined Force outfit and he also knows how important the next three weeks will be.
"We knew that defence was important and that it would be a key indicator of attitude and the outcome of the game. The seven points they did get came from an intercept so it showed that our defence was very good," Waugh said.
"Our defensive effort was very good last week as well, we just had a lot more opportunities and nailed our attacking chances a bit better to score some more tries. It was always going to be a passionate performance from the Force and they played well, and it was a credit to our guys to stick at it and grind out a win."
"We now go home for two home games now and they are very important leading into the Crusaders game overseas and the bye. I'm really looking forward to the bracket of games coming up."