OXFORD Rebels will make a rare return to action at Swindon’s Abbey Stadium tonight (7.30pm), writes ROBERT PEASLEY.

The meeting is a memorial for former Oxford skipper Bob Kilby, who died in 2009, aged 64.

It is a three-team tournament featuring Swindon, Oxford and Exeter – the three clubs that Kilby rode for during a highly successful 20-year career between 1964 and 1983.

Oxford were called the Rebels during the spell that Kilby rode for the club in 1973 and 1974, so Oxford will ride as the Rebels tonight rather than the more traditional Cheetahs.

With no permanent team, the Oxford side have been specially constructed for the evening.

It consists of a quartet of former Oxford riders in Niels-Kristian Iversen, Charlie Gjedde, David Howe and Lubos Tomicek. Former Oxford boss Mick Bell will manage the side.

Iversen is likely to be the star turn. He is a current Danish international and on the fringes of the Grand Prix series.

Swindon boss Gary Patchett said: “We want to provide the best entertainment possible in memory of Bob, who is still talked about with great affection.

“I would love to see the sport return to Oxford. We staged a very successful meeting along similar lines two years ago, involving Oxford, Reading and Cradley, and now Cradley have a side in the National League.”