Kingstone Press Championship One Preview: London Skolars v Hemel Stags

London Skolars coach Joe Mbu wants to build on his side’s progress last week as they prepare for a local derby with Hemel Stags.

Skolars picked up a bonus point in their last Kingstone Press Championship One outing, losing 30-20 against York City Knights in a performance that left Mbu encouraged.

He said: “We worked together as a team – something that hasn’t been the case in some of our recent matches.”

But Hemel coach Troy Perkins is also in confident mood after his side’s success against Gloucestershire All Golds.

The Stags look set to be boosted by the returns of Alex Ingarfield and Ben Young for Sunday’s clash.

Perkins said: “On paper Skolars are a very good team. They’ve a lot of quality players, but for whatever reason they haven’t been putting it together.

“But I’ve already spoken to our players about ignoring the table, because it’s a derby game and they’ll have targeted this as a game they want to win more than any other.”