ROYAL Wootton Bassett head coach Alan Low has praised the work of his coaching staff ahead of tomorrow’s South West One East tie against Marlborough.

An eye for local talent means Bassett have fielded a team largely made up of players from the town, something which Low insists everyone at the club should be proud of.

His comments come prior to Bassett’s league clash against Wiltshire rivals Marlborough, who have historically imported players that have not grown up in the town itself.

Because of this, Low insists none of his men are viewing the tie as a local derby – instead they have all eyes on retaining their second-placed league position.

Low said: “We know nothing about Marlborough – they’re not a local side, the players have been drafted in.

“It’s another team for us to play, I know that our players don’t see it as a local derby.

“We’re proud of the fact we’ve got a home-grown developed squad, if others choose to do it in a different way, then that’s down to them.

“Our players will be here at the club next week, because they’ve grown up here. And, for me, that’s the right way to do it.”

A win for Bassett tomorrow will stretch their advantage over third-placed Marlborough to a minimum of five points.

However, victory for Marlborough will see them jump up to second, making tomorrow’s clash an important one for both teams.

With Newbury running away with the title, Low is keen to keep up the pressure on the current runaway league leaders, while still developing his younger players.

He added: “We’ve got a young squad – and 15 of the 18 have progressed from the youth section.

“That’s what we want to continue – developing players, delivering good rugby and picking up some results on the way.

“The side is just starting to mature now having spent the last few years working on that, and that’s great.”

Elsewhere in South West One East, Mike Thompson’s Swindon will be in search of their first league win of the season when travelling to face fifth-placed Banbury, who have won six of their first 10 games.