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University of Canterbury head coach Tim Belcher believes back-to-back losses could ultimately benefit his side, despite the Vipers slipping outside the top four with two rounds remaining in the regular season.
University fell 29-17 to Sydenham on Saturday, a week after a 34-22 defeat to competition leaders Linwood.
The Vipers are now fifth and on track for their lowest finish since 2022, with the top eight teams qualifying for the playoffs.
Belcher said University’s strong regular-season form in recent years had not translated into finals success.
“I think learning from some of these losses is not going to be a bad thing for us going into finals,” he said.
“You can’t finish top and beat people by 50 or 60 in the round robin and then expect to win a comp. Thinking back to last year, they put 50 on Linwood in the first round and didn’t even make the semis.”
Belcher backed his youthful squad, which has at times featured more than 10 teenagers on the field, to peak at the right time.
“We’ve got a lot of young men who are very talented, but they’re coming up against some seasoned, experienced teams.
“I think the learnings we can get from here will hold us in good stead for the finals. You don’t win the comp in June or May, you win it in July, and as long as we’re there or thereabouts, I think we’ll be a very tough side to beat.”
University plays last-placed Shirley this weekend in an attempt to get back to winning ways.
In contrast, Linwood remain in outstanding form after an 81-0 demolition of Shirley kept them at the top of the table, one point clear of Lincoln University.
Head coach Brendan Nolan credited the club’s depth, with 17 players already making their premier debuts this season.
“It’s been a bit of a slow grind for us. We’ve had to build on top of a lot of new people,” he said.
“It’s a nice place to be for a coach to have players vying for one position when we’re three or four deep at the moment.”
A win over Belfast on Saturday, combined with favourable results elsewhere, would see Linwood secure top spot with a round to spare.
Second-placed Lincoln University travel to High School Old Boys.
New Brighton sit third, three points behind Linwood and two adrift of Lincoln University, ahead of their trip to Christchurch. Fourth-placed Marist Albion face Burnside in a challenge for the DCL Shield.
Burnside only claimed the shield last weekend with a win over Sumner, who travel to Sydenham on Saturday.
All matches kick off at 2.45pm.
METRO PREMIER POINTS
Linwood 38; Lincoln Uni 37; New Brighton 35; Marist Albion 34; University 33; Burnside 28; HSOB 28; Sydenham, 22; Belfast 18; Sumner 18; Christchurch 14; Shirley 0