RUGBY: Westall's wedding day leaves his team depleted (From Swindon Advertiser)

RUGBY: Westall's wedding day leaves his team depleted

8:10am Friday 27th January 2012 in Rugby

IT WILL be a case of alarm bells rather than wedding bells for Swindon coach Neil Loader this weekend.

More than half of the club’s first choice team are unavailable for the home clash with Coney Hill because they are attending fly-half Adam Westall’s wedding to partner Kelly, leaving Loader with a massive selection headache.

He is set to turn to a mixture of youth and experience with club stalwart Neil Maycock deputising for the influential Westall, but is determined to see the positive side of the enforced changes which will see him without close to a dozen first choice players.

“We will be missing a large chunk of our first choice team which is obviously hard to cope with. The forwards look as though they are going to be ok, because we are hit most in the backs,” he said.

“But we have said a number of times that we would like to have a real look at some of the younger guys and give them some experience at this level. This would probably not have been the game I would have chosen to do it in, but it is just one of those things that we have to deal with, and we will get on with it.”

“Adam is a massive loss for us because he plays a key role in what we do. We are very lucky to have him every week, so we will have to cope without him.

“When he was injured for a while last year Neil came in and did well, so we know he will do it again.

“They are very different players, as Adam likes to get the backs running and playing an attacking game, while Neil is more of a tactical player.”

Following the game, Loader and a host of the remaining Swindon players will jump on a bus to be taken to the evening celebration, and the coach is hoping the squad will concentrate on the game rather than being caught up in wedding fever.

“If they do have their minds on the wedding they will be in for a very long afternoon and it could be very painful.

“Coney Hill are a good side, but play some of the narrowest rugby I have seen. When we played earlier in the season you could probably have thrown a 15m net over the players and they all would have been under it. Our forwards will have to be on the money if we are going to get anything out of the game.”

Loader is also set to give a debut to fly-half Will Virgo who joined the club in the summer, but will start his first match for the club at inside centre.