By Angus Hayman

With just two rounds of GPS rugby remaining, the race for the premiership has been whittled down to two: Riverview and Newington. 

Both sides secured important wins on Saturday, with Riverview accounting for Scots 32-21 while Newington survived a thrilling 32-26 contest against Kings.

The result means the GPS title is set for a winner-takes-all showdown in the final round. But Saturday also served up an upset, with Joeys winding back the clock to stun Shore 48-24 and prove there are still plenty of twists to come before the big one.

Newington 32 – 26 Kings 

Kings arrived at Newington knowing nothing less than victory would do, but the hosts proved too sharp in a seesawing contest that could have gone either way.

Newington struck first through hooker Annakin Richardson, who continued his flourishing season as an edge forward by finishing well out wide. Kings immediately hit back, scrumhalf Makoto Chapman pouncing on loose ball before dancing down the touchline to score.

Newington then wrestled back control, second rower Kupu Manuofetoa powering over from close range, before Kings produced the move of the half. Slick hands and serious pace sent Thomas Aroyan over as Kings reclaimed the lead 14-12.

Timoci Nagusa finally got his grasp on the game, finishing in the corner, before Cooper Moore added a penalty to make it 20-14.

Then came a wild two-try swing. Newington appeared to have intercepted and raced 75 metres to score, only for the try to be pulled back for an offside penalty. Kings kicked to the corner and finished through a converted rolling maul to lead 21-20 at half-time.

Nagusa was at it again early in the second half, finding a sliver of space before dancing inside the final defender for his second. Moore then strolled through a gapping mid-field hole to make it 32-21.

Kings responded through No.8 Toby Davies, whose searing pace and strength carried him over in the corner, but neither side could crack the scoreboard again for the final 20 minutes.

Kings came agonisingly close, but Newington’s defence held firm, ending the match with a held-up try to seal a thrilling win.

Riverview 32 – 21 Scots

The visitors dominated the opening 10 minutes, repeatedly pounding the Riverview line without finding a way through. Then, cruelly, an intercept gave Riverview an 85-metre gift, with Jack Plamondon racing away untouched to break Scots’ momentum.

Scots refused to panic and eventually found their reward through a pick-and-go try, before Riverview finally discovered some attacking rhythm. Billy Bowen began finding his hands more regularly, leading to territory and a well-worked rolling maul that put Riverview ahead.

Scots were held up again, this time thanks to a brilliant captain’s tackle from Isaac Perkins, and the score remained 12-7 at half-time.

Riverview returned to their maul after the break, sucking in the Scots defence before going short side, with Hugh Gacitua the beneficiary.

Scots answered with another maul try to make it 17-14, before the match’s standout moment arrived.

Plamondon sparked the move with a brilliant kick return, slipping a tackle before finding Taj Scarr in support. Scarr produced an outrageous step to leave a defender grasping at thin air before charging over.

Scots continued to hang around, with skipper Oscar Tremlett finishing another pick-and-go to make it a contest.

But Plamondon had one more decisive contribution, creating the space for Archer Hartman to finish an overlap and deliver the killer blow.

Riverview eventually ran away 32-21 winners, but this was far from the straightforward afternoon they might have expected.

Shore 24 – 48 Joeys

Joeys produced a performance built around one of their most dangerous weapons: counter-attack, as they ran away from Shore 48-24.

The hosts had an early scare when a Joeys chip-and-chase looked destined for the line, only for Shore second rower Liam Sidwell to produce a heroic chase-down tackle five metres out.

The rugby gods were not to deny Joeys for long however, as a turnover from the resulting scrum saw centre Henry Gardiner racing into the corner.

Gardiner was at it again shortly after, turning another kick-return counter into a line break and his second try.

Shore finally found a spark through No.8 Isaac Kasprowicz, who powered through contact to score, but Joeys struck before half-time when fullback Henry Troy broke the line and found Riley Bourne in support to make it 19-7.

Joeys were dominant on the counter and caused Shore plenty of problems at scrum time.

Shore came out firing after the break, with flyhalf Luke Maclennan finally unleashing his pace to score before Jeremy Bremner finished another attack in the corner.

But Joeys immediately restored their advantage, Eddie Garcia-Wood charging under the posts after Shore failed to exit their own half. 

Jack Short added another in the corner before prop Charles Hicks powered over, leaving Shore facing a 38-17 deficit.

Joeys landed the decisive blow through more brilliant counter-attacking rugby, Bourne finding Gardiner on the inside for his hat-trick.

Bourne then pinched an intercept of his own to cap a superb afternoon as Joeys wound back the clock with a vintage performance, running out 48-24 winners.