Bonus incentive for Swindon (From Swindon Advertiser)

Bonus incentive for Swindon

6:00am Friday 8th March 2013 in Rugby By Andy Warren

SWINDON captain Adam Westall admitted bonus-point victories are vital for his side as they push for a top-three finish, but would simply be happy to avoid a banana skin and claim a four-point win at Witney tomorrow.

The Greenbridge Road side lead Reading by a single point to hold third place in South West 1 East, in a battle which is likely to go down to the final day of the season.

If Swindon can win all five of their remaining fixtures scoring four or more tries in each they will hold their position to cap a superb season, but Westall is only focused on winning what promises to be a tight game in Oxfordshire.

“Looking at the run-in we have a fairly even set of games with Reading, where we play Bracknell and they have to play to Old Cents who are both going for promotion so will be huge games,” he said.

“The rest we see as winnable, and if we keep winning with bonus points we will end up third which will be a massive step for the club.

“We’ve got to play a brand of rugby which allows us to get the bonus point, and if we go out there and be negative and settle for field possession then we might struggle.

“They’re quite a tricky side to play and they have some good players, and they are a team we know really well because they’ve been in the league a very long time.

“We only beat them by a point at our place earlier in the season, and they are a good side so we would be happy with a win there.

“It’s not often we win at Witney, and I’ve never won there for Swindon, so I would be happy to come away with a four-pointer and see that as a banana skin avoided.”

While Swindon are fighting for third Witney are currently stuck in 10th in the table, but Westall sees that as something of a false position.

“They are quite defensive and fairly big, and they are all local lads too so it’s always good to play against them because they play proper rugby and are there to play for their club,” he said.

“In terms of their defensive record they are superb, but at the moment they are just struggling to get over the try-line which ultimately wins games.

“They have had a bit of an injury crisis in recent months, and they are a bit like us where if they get two or three key injuries they will be struggling a little bit.

“Last week they won and took Salisbury really close too, so they will be a tough test for us that’s for sure.”

Supermarine and Wootton Bassett are in Southern Counties South action this weekend, with the South Marston side hosting Dorchester who currently sit in midtable.

Bassett have hauled themselves away from any potential relegation battle, and face fellow midtable side Corsham tomorrow.