Improving Skolars hunt first win

London Skolars coach Joe Mbu is hoping to make it third time lucky as he searches for a first win of 2011.

London have lost 62-18 against Widnes Vikings and 32-4 against Doncaster RLFC in their first two Northern Rail Cup games of the season but Mbu will be confident that Sunday’s home advantage could be enough to inspire his squad to claim their first three points of the year.

Skolars are boosted by the fact York playmaker Jonny Presley could miss out.

Presley suffered concussion during the Knights’ 32-22 defeat against Featherstone and is a major doubt for Sunday’s trip to the capital.

Knights coach Dave Woods said: “We did some good things against Featherstone, but it’s just a matter of getting up to speed to play at that level.

“We’ve got some players that were playing amateur rugby only a couple of years ago, so it’s a big step up.”

On the challenge of facing the Skolars, he added: “You’ve got to be prepared to go there and do the hard work because they can come out and surprise you.

“They’ve got some pretty handy players, and the long bus journey means it’s a tough day.”