WITH the Swanage & Wareham treatment room as full as Santa’s grotto, Robert Elford could do with a little Christmas cheer from an old timer.

And the Bestwall captain duly received it as the Purbeckers’ old guard came to the fore against Chippenham last weekend – albeit minus the fluffy white beards.

Third-team captain Dom Smith and second-team centre-turned-back-row Will Corsie both turned in eye-catching displays as Swans eased past the South West One visitors to reach the Dorset & Wilts Cup semi-finals once again.

But despite Swans feeling the personnel pinch again for tomorrow’s South West Two East clash against Cheltenham (Bestwall, 2pm), Elford could go from scraping the barrel to a major selection headache come January.

The Swans captain said: “We’ve got a couple more injuries and knocks, but everybody from one to 15 played remarkably well against Chippenham.

“When the chips are down, we tend to step up. It’s not unusual for us to be under-strength, but a few of the fringe players have really pulled it out of the bag.

“We knew we were capable of it and I think the scoreline flattered Chippenham a little. We were disappointed to only go in 18-3 up at half-time – I think another 10 points would have reflected the game more accurately.

“Will Corsie, who is a centre in the second team, made the move to the back row recently and came in on Saturday and had a good game. The Chippenham back line is very effective and he wasn’t phased at all. He did everything right, tackled well and ran hard.

“Dom Smith, the veteran, came in a fly-half. I don’t think he’ll forgive me if I have a stab in the dark at his age, but he’s not a grandad like Alan Woodard (Swans prop)!

“He’s actually a third team centre and has played a lot of first-team rugby in previous years, but I don’t think he’s played in the first-team for at least three years.

“He did a splendid job.”

Having lost six of their 11 league games so far this term, Swans are in the unusual position of sixth as the festive break approaches.

Elford, looking ahead to tomorrow’s clash at Bestwall, said: “We were depleted for Chippenham and even more so this weekend.

“We’re waiting on a couple of people and there are some knocks from Saturday. We’ve lost Charlie Rowberry (wing) to concussion and Ollie Andrews (prop) picked up a nasty cut under his left eye and has had eight stitches.

“I could name 15 players now, but it could be completely different on Saturday afternoon the way things are going.

“We’re still confident that third place is there for the taking and we don’t know how strong Cheltenham will be coming down here this close to Christmas, but Saturday was a massive confidence boost for everyone.”