SWINDON College Old Boys head coach Mark Lea admits his side face a tough test when they come up against Chesham at the weekend.

The Berks/ Bucks & Oxon Premier league leaders were left disappointed last week as there game against Tadley was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

And Lea believes the unscheduled rest for his players may have a detrimental effect as he watches the fixtures pile up for the rest of the season.

“If we keep going through the cup, we will have fixtures every weekend and with the level of rugby we play you need those rests,” said Lea.

“It's not a good thing at all because that game will now have to be rescheduled into a free weekend, it’s a shame but it is what it is.”

Looking ahead to the weekend, Lea is more than aware of the disciplined nature of their opponents, who only lost 11-22 at the beginning of October.

“They’re the only side we haven’t scored a bonus point against. We only scored three tries against them,” added Lea.

“When we travelled down there, their defence was as strong as any defence I have seen this season so it won’t be an easy one this weekend.

“We have to realise we can’t go through them straight away, we have to build possession and phases to break them down.

“With any structured defence, there is no point in going through them, you have to try to break down that structure before you go for the killer blow.”

Duo Damon Murphy and Rory O’Brien are both unavailable for the fixture at the weekend, but Lea is not discouraged by the fact he will have to make a few adjustments.

“We’ve juggled the pack around but I’m comfortable with the seconds who are coming in,” said the College Old Boys chief.

“Momentum is important, but it is how we play which is more important to me this year. Barring a disaster, I can’t see why we wouldn’t get promotion.

“Obviously it would be nice to win the league and go unbeaten but it is all about how we play so we are in a position to stay up next year.”

n SUPERMARINE host Melksham in Dorset & Wilts One North tomorrow.