SWINDON College Old Boys are hungrier than ever to claim a first win of the season after seeing their tough start made even worse by a points deduction, according to director of rugby Martin Lloyd.

College have lost all four of their matches so far in Southern Counties North, although a series of spirited displays was rewarded with bonus points.

However, those have now gone and they are at the foot of the table after being hit with a five-point penalty for fielding an unregistered player.

Lloyd says SCOB are not feeling sorry for themselves and are determined to get off the mark away at Drifters on Saturday.

“We are looking forward to it. We are determined to start winning games and we are confident that we do that this weekend,” said Lloyd.

“We have come very close already and every time we go out on the pitch we see it as an opportunity to get off the mark.

“Unfortunately, an admin error has cost us five points and that is something we can’t really afford but it was an honest mistake.

“It was a player who has been at the club a long time and we assumed he was registered but unfortunately he wasn’t.

“It was just an genuine mistake and the lad involved is devestated that something like that has cost the team five points but the players have all reacted really well to it and are determined to make up for that.

“When things don’t go your way confidence can take a knock but that’s not the case. We know we can win games in this league.”

SCOB had no fixture last weekend and Lloyd hopes that can make a difference as the squad have looked rejuvenated in training.

“We gave the guys a bit of a rest as we have been struggling with a few knocks and it seems to have paid off as we have got a lot of people coming back to fitness,” said Lloyd.

“Drifters like to play and throw the ball around a bit, which is great because that’s what we like to do as well. We’ve had some really productive attack v defence training drills and we’re looking forward to the game.”