Standards have to remain the same for Newbury

NEWBURY Blues head coach Paul Archer has challenged his players to keep their standards high for the remaining three weeks of the season.

Blues won at Oxford Harlequins on Saturday to pick up their 22nd victory of a stunning season in South West 1 East.

But, despite a 19th bonus-point victory, Archer felt his side made it hard for themselves.

He said: “I thought we defended badly and, as a consequence, we made it very difficult for ourselves.

“We scored some nice tries, but when we had possession we weren’t able to hold onto the ball as well as we have done previously.”

Archer admitted that Oxford were stern opposition, but with three games left this season, he wants his players to raise the bar.

He said: “It was good to get the win, but  I don’t think we were as good as the standards we have set.

“We need to take a look at ourselves in the coming weeks because although we have won the league, our standards have to remain high.”

Royal Wootton Bassett visit Monks Lane on Saturday as Blues host their annual Pink Day, raising money for charity.

And with plenty of events on during the day, Archer is looking forward to seeing a good turn out.

“It will be a good day and hopefully we can raise a lot of money for cancer research and motor neurone disease.

“There are a lot of events on the day and it’s great that we can support these causes because it’s big for the community.

“It’s really positive and hopefully we can get a lot of people on Saturday.”