Chris Tate believes ten points from the last four games will be enough to avoid relegation, after his side came desperately close to securing much-needed points against Matlock.
Newark Rugby Club’s Chris Tate drives through a tackle in Saturday’s match against Matlock.
Newark missed a breakaway towards the end of the second-half when they were just a point behind their opponents, who instead notched a late try to win 26-18.
Tate acknowledged the team’s fight for survival in the Midlands 1 East League was likely to go to the wire.
“I’m not saying it will, but it looks like it will all go down to the last game of the season against Kettering, although we don’t want it to,” he said.
“In my opinion it would be a disaster if we went down because it would undo all the good work we did last season to get back up again, and this season has been disrupted by injuries and people leaving because of their work.
“We need ten points from the last four games, and I think our recent performances against Ilkeston and Matlock have shown we can achieve results.”
Newark, nine points clear of the drop-zone, have a tough run-in with games against promotion-chasing Peterborough Lions and Old Northamptonians, who were knocked off the top two places recently, before travelling to local rivals Paviors and hosting relegation-rivals Kettering.
Tate said: “We can steal some points off Paviors if we play like we have been, and Peterborough Lions are a mixed bag when they travel so we could get something off them as well.
“We never go into a game thinking we are going to lose, but against Old Northamptonians we will have to be at our best, and then hopefully we want to be safe by the time we play Kettering.”
One major concern for Newark is injuries. Freddie Tatham is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, while brothers Tom and Danny Coen are also recovering from knocks.
Aloesi Waqalevu and Lewis Cove are also doubts for the rest of the season.
Newark’s NLD Vase cup game with Spalding has been postponed leaving them without a game on Saturday, and they travel to Old Northamptonians a week on Saturday.
