By MARK CASHMAN

Newington College Director of Rugby Lachlan Fear believes that the draw will help them work their way into their campaign for a GPS rugby competition that is being touted as the closest for a number of years.

Newington got their season off to a good start with a 36-21 win over Shore last Saturday running in six tries to three in a willing encounter at Stanmore.

They scored five of those tries in the first 25 minutes with a number of them coming off practised attacking shapes from set play, both scrum and lineout.

“It was great that the boys were able to execute a lot of the things that we had been practising coming into the season,” Fear said.

“Traditionally we have always had a big tight five and we like to be able to do is to maximise how we work off that strength.

“These two areas don’t always complement each other perfectly but the playing group and the coaches are working hard at making the team the best it can be..

“Shore certainly came back into the game in the second half and they will challenge the higher ranked teams as the season progresses.”

The first up win sees Newington College sitting in third spot on the competition ladder with two points, equal with the other first up winners The King’s School and Joeys.

They play St Ignatius’ College this weekend and Fear says it will be a perfectly timed examination of where they sit in the GPS pecking order.

“There are a lot of things going on in this season so far with exams, injuries and of course the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Fear said.

“The nature of our draw means that we will be able to work our way into some of the tougher games and that from our point of view is a good thing.

The match of the round is the clash between The King’s School and Scots.

Joeys at this stage are looking to be the warm competition favourite with King’s not that far off the pace.

But the condensed nature of the draw, particularly at the back end of the competition, is sure to have a telling effect. 

The weekend’s round of games:

ROUND THREE: Newington College v St Ignatius College, Shore v St Joseph’s College, The King’s School v The Scots College.