Kingstone Press League 1 Preview: Swinton Lions v Oxford

Swinton Lions beat University of Gloucestershire All Golds 42-6 in their last game.

Coach John Duffy said: “It was another good win last week. There were torrential conditions at points in that game but our skill was still very good, so it was a good win for us against an All Golds side who have, I think, really progressed this year from the first time we played them.

“We’ll probably rotate a little bit this week just to keep us fresh for the Oldham game. There’s some lads chomping at the bit who need some game time. But we’ll go with a good squad to get a very good win.”

Oxford go to Swinton Lions on the back of a 40-26 win at South Wales Scorpions. Coach Tim Rumford said: “It was a real battle down at South Wales and we prepared for that.

“After 15 minutes we found ourselves three tries in front and I think some of our boys took their foot off the gas a little bit and thought maybe it was going to be slightly easier than it turned out.

“Credit to South Wales, they came back but, credit to us, we withstood it and came up with enough at the back end of the game just to finish it off.”

Rumford admits that his squad could have done with a week off to give their bumps and bruises a little more time to heal.

He said: “It is what it is and we’ve just got to get on with it. We’ll cobble a team together and go up to Swinton with a real good attitude and try and get some credibility out of the game.”