After starting the season with impressive wins over Riverview and Joeys, Newington will look to cement their spot at the top of the GPS first XV ladder over a crucial 11-day period ahead of the June long weekend. 

Newington host Shore on Saturday and Kings next Thursday and will take plenty of confidence into those clashes after impressing in the opening rounds. 

“To start the season with wins over Riverview and Joeys in two tight games, it’s been fantastic and we’ve been really pleased with the playing group,” first XV coach Tim Rapp told Rugby News. 

“The performances have been good, but I’ve also been really pleased with the resilience the players have shown so far. 

“In the past when Newington sides have been under pressure, things haven’t always gone our way but this group of boys seem to have a really good connection with each other. 

“They’ve been really strong in defence in patches and they’ve shown confidence in their ability to defend their line and to maintain the structure that we want to play with. They haven’t tried to chase games, which is really positive at this stage of the season.”

Despite that, Rapp knows things are about to get a whole lot tougher for his side, who are chasing the school’s first GPS premiership since 2015. 

“This is a really tough and an interesting period for all GPS schools with two games in 11 days. 

“We’ve come off two really physical games and now we face Shore and Kings on a short turnaround. 

“Our number one priority is trying to keep everyone healthy, because the players are starting to show some wear and tear from playing three or four trials into two comp games. 

“So they’ve played six games back to back and their bodies are starting to feel the bumps and bruises. But it’s the same for all teams and I’m confident this group can handle it.”

While Newington supporters will dare to dream, Rapp said his group aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves and understand the importance of consistency across the 10 rounds of the competition. 

“The boys are obviously happy with two wins and it’s a really good start to the season. But they aren’t looking too far ahead.

“They’ve got aspirations to be a really good, maybe even a great team for the college.

“So there’s definitely that fire in the belly, I suppose, but they also know they’ve got to do a fair bit of work before that comes around.”

In the round’s other matches, Riverview host Scots and Kings travel to Joeys.