Knox’s undefeated first XV side are two wins away from claiming the 2024 CAS title but face their two greatest rivals in the weeks ahead before anyone claims any silverware. 

After beating Cranbrook, Trinity and Aloys on either side of the school holiday break, Knox host Waverley this weekend and can set up a winner take’s all “grand final” against Barker a week later if both sides win their round four clashes. 

“We’re happy with the position we’ve put ourselves in but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Knox first XV coach Cam Blades told Rugby News. 

“You’ve sort of got to restart after the long break over the holidays but the boys are really keen to perform well in these last two games and finish on a high. 

“We had a scrimmage against Kings at the backend of the holidays to help get us ready for the game against Aloys and that allowed us to hit the ground running.”

Despite facing a two week sprint to decide this year’s premiership that isn’t dissimilar to a traditional finals series, Blades said his side hasn’t changed their preparation or game plan ahead of Saturday’s match against Waverley. 

“The beauty of the CAS competition is that you typically need to win five games to win the competition so every game is important,” the coach said. 

“Obviously we adjust things from week to week based on how we’re tracking and who we are playing but we also tend to be more inwardly focussed than anything else.”

Knox scored 50 points against Aloys last week, while Waverley fell just short against Barker in a 28-26 thriller at Queens Park. 

“It was a real tussle and Waverley had an opportunity to win the game right at the end,” Blades said. 

“The scoreline was pretty reflective of how tight it was, they both really tested each other out and performed well under pressure. 

“Now it’s our turn to jump into the mix and see how we go.”

Despite Waverley’s loss last weekend, Blades said his side are expecting their biggest challenge of the season against last year’s premiers, as Knox chase the school’s first CAS title since 2016. 

“We’ve got to try and find space in attack,” the coach said. 

“But Waverley are very strong in the physical parts of the game, so we’ve got to earn the right to search for space, whether that be on the edges or out wide.

“They are a side that you’ve really got to match physically and we know from past experiences that if you don’t turn up and take it to them up front, then it’s very hard to come away with the result.

“We’ll be very focussed on that heading into this weekend.”

In the rounds other matches, Cranbrook host Barker and Trinity travel to face Aloys.