LYDNEY will be without skipper Will Jones for their trip to bottom club Newbury this Saturday.

Jones is in Australia and will miss the next two games. Charlie Vine will captain the team in his absence, with Matt Taylor likely to fill the void at number seven. Lydney' s only injury doubt is centre Dougie Freeman, although several players have had the flu, including Jim McMahon who lost a stone in weight.

Lydney could hardly have asked for a kinder fixture to ease themselves back into the swing of things.

Going to Newbury used to fill visiting teams with dread, but the National Two South strugglers are now a shadow of their former selves. They've lost 13 out of 13 this season, conceding a mammoth 873 points along the way.

Lydney have had a decent campaign and, barring a major slump in form, look sure to avoid an end of season relegation scrap. Coach Nick Bartlett said: "It's a good game to come back to, but there's still a fear of becoming the first side to lose to them. They've ran the opposition close until half-time in several games.

"We've targeted our next three games as crucial. After Saturday, we've got Clifton at home, then Westcombe Park. It's an important month."

Lydney had a full contact training session on Tuesday night, but prior to that Bartlett was relying on his players to keep themselves fit.

He said: "We've not done an awful lot for five weeks. It's been a tough time for the guys and a tough time for the club. Without local gyms such as Club Ginger I think a lot of clubs would struggle."

Lydney have won six and lost seven in the league to date.

The arrival of Brett Turner from Cinderford has been a major plus on the field.

The burly centre is the third top goal kicker in the division with 156 points (38 penalties and 21 conversions). Only Ealing's Neil Hallett (195) and Andrew Frost of Southend (161) have booted more points.

Lydney's leading try scorer this season is back-row Tim Longton with five.

The Severnsiders have scored 29 tries in total with others coming from: Chris Holder (4), Tony Wicks (3), Ben Lewis (3), Charlie Vine (2), Dave Bennett (2), Stuart Doust (2), Doug Freeman (1), Brett Turner (1), Dan Chui (1), Craig Jones (1), Jim McMahon (1), James Bashford (1), Leigh Green (1) and Paul Scott (1).