JAMIE Barrett hopes a run of fixtures against teams positioned in the lower half of the Southern Counties South division can inspire Swindon College Old Boys into a positive run of form.

Old Boys have won four of their opening seven fixtures this season - and while winning just over half of their matches suggests signs of slight inconsistency, Barrett insists he had been pleased with the displays of his troops so far this season.

Defeats against Sherborne and Frome have been Old Boys’ only two fixtures that they have walked away pointless from this season, a stat which Barrett believe his troops can reflect on positively ahead of today’s tie against mid-table Walcot.

He said: “We are pretty happy with how we have been going.

“We have played some good rugby and got some good wins on the board.

“Although our results may not have been that consistent, we have played a lot of teams that are towards the top of the table, so we’ve had some tough games.

“In the games we lost, we got a bonus point against Yeovil and just missed out on one against Sherborne, so it was only against Frome where we probably let ourselves down a little bit.”

While Sherborne continue to run away with the division having won all seven of their opening fixtures, Barrett hopes picking points from teams currently positioned below them can help project them in the direction of the division’s top four – currently propped up by Devizes on 25 points.

Remaining realistic though, the Old Boys boss hasn’t lost sight of the key aim for this season - to consolidate the club as a competitive Southern Counties South outfit.

He added: “We have adapted well, and we go into every game not wanting to accept defeat.

“Our expectations this season remain to try to consolidate ourselves in this division and I think we have to be pretty happy with the way we have done that.”

Elsewhere this weekend, South West One (East) strugglers Swindon host Wimborne.

Still seeking their first win of the season, Mike Thompson’s men host ninth placed Wimborne off the back of nine successive defeats.

Despite this, a win could promote Thompson’s troops as high as 12th - with fellow strugglers Witney and Stratford-upon-Avon winning just a game each.

Marlborough are also in action as they travel to Oxford Harlequins while Royal Wootton Bassett play hosts to Chippenham in an all Wiltshire affair.