St Patrick’s are preparing for three weeks of finals type rugby as they continue to chase their first AIC title since 2018.

Pats dropped their first game of the season last weekend, falling short against Villanova 25-22, but are still well and truly in the premiership race with three games remaining.

“I think we lost our way in the Villanova game a little and probably tried to overplay our hand a little,” coach Josh Neilson told Rugby News.

“Villa were able to capitalise on our errors and that was the difference in the end.

“In this competition, you can’t have an off day and still expect to win.”

Pat’s kicked off their campaign with three straight victories and Nielsen said he thought his side was improving each week, before their poor performance over the weekend.

“We won our first game against Eddies but we didn’t play particularly well that week. We then beat Iona at the last minute and that gave the boys a lot of confidence, which showed a week later in a pretty clinical win over Padua.

Nielsen said he’s been impressed with his side’s set piece and defence so far this year but admitted they still had quite a bit of growth in them.

“I’d like to see some improvement in our attack. Against quality outfits, when an opportunity presents itself, you need to take advantage of it and that’s something we will need to do consistently over the next few weeks.

“Tim Ryan and Jackson Dows have been very strong for us. Their work ethic is exceptional and they’re both performing consistently well each week.”

Pat’s play St Peter’s this week, before finishing the season with clashes against an undefeated Lauries side and second placed Marist Ashgrove.

“Without a doubt, St Laurence’s are the team to beat. They have weapons all over the field and play a fast and physical brand of rugby,” Nielsen said.

“But we think we’re every chance. We’ve got three tough games remaining so we’re focussed on doing the little things right to give us an opportunity to be successful and win each of them.

“It doesn’t get much more exciting than playing the top two teams in the last two weeks of the competition.”