Oxford RLFC v Hunslet RLFC – Sunday, May 14 (2.00pm)
Oxford became the first Kingstone Press League 1 side to travel to Canada to face Toronto Wolfpack in their first home game at the Lamport Stadium last weekend.
Coach Tim Rumford said, “It was a great experience for our young players. We went out there with a squad with an average age of 22. Some of the boys have certainly never been over there before so it was a big thing for us.
“We made a good fist of the game, we toughed it out and stood up for ourselves. I felt like the scoreline didn’t really reflect our effort. We played against a quality team and I think our lads stood up for themselves pretty well.”
Ahead of their game against Hunslet, Rumford continued, “It’s great to be back at home this week, we’ve had some good performances at Tilsley Park. It’s a fast field and we’ve got a young set of players with some really explosive backs. I think we’ll look to play our style of rugby and hopefully try to expand if the weather permits.
Kingstone Press League 1 fixtures kick-off this evening as @TOwolfpack travel to @ThunderRugby in round 7 pic.twitter.com/6xURFaGaLl
— Championships-RL (@RLChampionships) May 12, 2017
“We’ve probably played our best rugby at home this year, so we’re pretty happy to be back.
“Hunslet are fourth in the table for a reason, they’re a really good side. Their forwards are very direct, they thrive on getting quick play of the balls in the middle and they’ve got a couple of nines that once they get running at you it’s a pretty tough task to get back in control.
“We need to be confident in the middle and execute our plays well when we’ve got the ball and make sure we’re squeaky clean in terms of our completion, so hopefully we’ll be able to compete.”
Hunslet currently sit in fourth spot of the Kingstone Press League 1 table. Last weekend, they secured a 36-26 win over North Wales Crusaders.
Across the rest of the fixtures, Newcastle Thunder welcome Toronto Wolfpack, who will be looking to return to the top of the table on Friday night.
Kingston Park looking grand ahead of tonight's clash with @TOwolfpack Tickets available on the gate £12 adult standing £15 adult seating pic.twitter.com/Ap5pnyJvzB
— Newcastle Thunder (@ThunderRugby) May 12, 2017
On Saturday, University of Gloucestershire All Golds take on North Wales Crusaders just two weeks after they came head to head in the League 1 Cup semi-final and London Skolars welcome Whitehaven RLFC.
Sunday’s fixtures see Hemel Stags take on Doncaster RLFC, following the departure of coach Gary Thornton earlier this week (2.00pm).
South Wales Ironmen travel to Workington Town and York City Knights welcome Coventry Bears (3.00pm).
