THEY may be unbeaten after five Division One East fixtures but there is no danger of Newbridge becoming too big for their boots.

The Welfare Ground outfit sit in second place, a single point behind Merthyr who have played one game more than them.

The club are making good early progress towards the prize of top spot and a play-off with their western rivals for a spot in the top flight under the guidance of coaches Byron Hayward and Wayne Jones.

However, the ‘Bridge chiefs have been in rugby too long to be getting ahead of themselves and will make sure their charges don’t make that mistake.

“We are all aware that it is very early on,” said Hayward. “There is a lot of water to go under the bridge before April and there are all sorts of things that are out of our control like injuries and the weather, so all we can do is look after internal matters.

“For us the key is to keep working hard because that is what has got us into this situation – it’s not rocket science.

“And to be fair to the players they have responded to us and are getting the rewards for their efforts.

“We stay humble and respect whoever we play, we don’t underestimate or think we are better than any team whether they are at the top or the bottom.

“And as coaches we didn’t set any goals or points targets because that creates pressure and we didn’t want to do that.

”The next fortnight could be crucial come crunch time with Newbridge hosting third-placed Llanharan this afternoon and travelling to leaders Merthyr next weekend.

“It’s going to be a big few weeks for us with Llanharan one below us and Merthyr one above,” said Hayward.

“These games could have a big impact on the season and a pair of wins would give us a massive boost but we will approach each game in the same way as any other.”

Other Division One East fixtures: Beddau v Rumney, Blackwood v Ystrad Rhondda, Caerphilly v UWIC, Newport Saracens v Merthyr, Penallta v Bargoed.