SWINDON continued their remarkable resurgence in South West One East with a fifth successive victory at the weekend after they triumphed 36-17 away at Stratford Upon Avon.

The Greenbridge Road side entered 2018 with just four league wins to their name over the first half of the season and showed little sign of stemming that slump when losing their first three games since the turn of the year.

However, a battling 17-10 success away at local rivals Royal Wootton Bassett on the final weekend in January provided the spark they needed and they have set out on a remarkable winning run ever since.

There was little to choose between Swindon and a Stratford side content in mid-table during the first half at Loxley Road as the two teams traded a solitary try apiece.

Swindon skipper Mike Thompson then issued a rallying cry at the break to inspire the visitors to an emphatic victory, which saw them pull seven points clear of the bottom three.

Thompson said: “I’m really happy. Things are certainly going a lot better now than they were at the start of the season.

“We knew it was an important game on Saturday and the lads put in a really good performance. It is a massive win for us.

“At half-time it was only 5-5, so it shows what an entertaining second half it was.

“We had a chat at half-time and pointed out that Stratford didn’t really have much to play for. They can’t go up and they’re not going to go down, so it was all down to us and I am really proud of the way the lads stepped up after that.

“We came out after half-time and scored early to get control of the game and we pushed on from there.

“I have got to give credit to George Russ and Frazer Brown, our nine and 10. They controlled the game really well and let everyone else play as best they can.

“Credit to the lads, they knew what was riding on the game and they responded to it.”

Swindon are now just two places behind local rivals Bassett in the table, with the Ballards Ash side having dropped to eighth after a weekend without a fixture.

Elsewhere, Swindon College Old Boys remain without a victory in Southern Counties South since January 13 after a heavy 43-7 defeat at home to leaders Marlborough.

It was also a weekend to forget for Supermarine in Dorset & Wilts North as their proposed trip to Combe Down ended in a home walkover.