Swinton Lions coach John Duffy hopes that their remarkable win at Super League Huddersfield Giants can inspire them to another shock victory at London Broncos.
The Lions have only won two games in the Championship all season but their Challenge Cup giant-killing provided one of the stories of the year in British rugby league.
And Duffy believes that his players will travel down to the capital with new-found confidence.
He said: “The players have been up there all week since the Huddersfield win and it was a fantastic result for the club and the players. We’re back into our League campaign now where we don’t sit so well so we’ll try and use last Sunday’s result as a vehicle to push us forward.
“Going out there and beating a Super League club, and a good Super League club in Huddersfield, should spur the players on and make us kick on in the league. We go there with lots of confidence, and with a good game plan, I’m sure we can get a result.”
London suffered a loss against Toronto Wolfpack in the previous round of the cup so had last weekend off.
And although Swinton’s win in West Yorkshire will have given their opponents confidence, Broncos boss Andrew Henderson admitted he also enjoyed watching the Lions win against the odds.
“I’m expecting a team coming down here with a lot of confidence after taking a huge scalp in the cup last week,” said Henderson. “At the end of the day, for me I just think it’s great. It’s a great story for the game and it’s great for Swinton. They’re probably a little bit disappointed in how their seasons panning out. I know they’ve lost a couple of games very narrowly.
“To come away with a result at Huddersfield in the way that they did and with that adversity too, they’ve got their own injury problems. I think it’s a great story for the British game that there is still an opportunity. A lot of people talk about ‘what’s the point in the cup’ but that, for Swinton, to get through to the next round and not only bring some more money into the game but then draw Wigan, their neighbours, get a big crowd and bring more money into their club. It’s a great advert for the game.”
