It will be agony or ecstasy for either Reading or Bracknell tomorrow afternoon as they face each other in the final South West Division 1 match of the season at Holme Park (3pm).
A win for Reading will keep them safe in South West 1 for another season, while defeat means South West Division 2 East rugby next season.
And a win is the only result second-placed Bracknell can contemplate if they are to cash in on any slip-ups from leaders Chinnor, who are two points clear going into their final game against city rivals Oxford Harlequins.
It’s a nail-biting scenario, but one that Reading skipper Alex Wallace and his men are relishing.
They have lost only once in their last seven games, winning four and drawing twice.
And Wallace said: “We’ve got a tricky job on our hands, but the way we’ve been playing puts us in a very good position to beat them.
“I think they are very strong up front, very good at the catch and drive and defend the line-out very well, but I’m sure the commitment will be there from the lads and will give them a physical battle.
“We must hit the corners, make our first time tackles and take our chances and Bracknell aren’t going to give us many of them.”
Reading stick with the pack that did so well against Cleve last Saturday,while Nick Brooks comes on to the wing in place of Alex Blackstock.
Bracknell’s former England back-row man Chris Sheasby is missing having injured his knee last weekend, so Kai Blankley starts at No.8 and there’s a return for Jason Borcherds to the second row.
Bracknell skipper Ben Nowak said: “We won’t be underestimating them and we’re under no illusion that we just have to turn up and win. But we’ve got to win, full-stop. If Chinnor lose, then we’ve won the league so we’ll be going out 110 per cent.”
Reading (W7 D2 L12): Wallace (c); Brooks, Nacamavuto, Tweedie, Ratu; Bragg, Dyson; Rees, Fisher, Grierson; Kenneally, Blewitt; Davies, Phillips, Jope. Reps: Weller, McLoughlin, Pryor, Choules, Lynch, Goodhew.
Bracknell (W18 L3): Budge; Byett, Jones, Nowak (c), Shears; Manupenu, Ap-Dafyd; Mirza, Shelton, Sloan; Barry, Borcherds; Sparks, Aiono, Blankley. Reps: Amand-Manea, Leishman, Yarnton.
Revenge mission
Berkshire champions Redingensians look to end the season on a high at the Old Bath Road Ground (3pm) by avenging their 38-20 defeat at Bournemouth earlier in the season.
It’s the final match of their first season of South West Division 1 rugby and they would like to see it out on a winning note.
Skipper Jez Flynn said: “If we can beat Bournemouth then we will finish above them in the table, and possibly Oxford Harlequins and Old Patesians.
“So we could finish fifth, which would be excellent for our first season and put us in good stead for next season.”
But they have had to delay selection pending fitness tests for both prop Chris Rumble (ankle) and centre/wing Joe Duffelen (groin), while both wings Craig Clements and Ben Saunders, who suffered a hamstring injury against Tadley last Sunday, are ruled out.
“It was our mistakes rather then them being too strong when they beat us down there so it should be a very close game,” said Flynn, who is hoping to lead the side for one more season.
As usual the club have entered a string of Sevens tournaments to complete their season, culminating with a trip to the Marbella Sevens at the end of May.
Redingensians (W9 L12): from Reed, Reynolds, Marsh, Amor, Duffelen, Chandler, Flynn (c); Rumble, Rise, Baker, Milne, C Davies, G Davies, Castell, Southern, Buzza.
Hunt wants final effort
Reading Abbey hope to wrap up their South West Division 2 East season with a win at High Wycombe (3pm).
They have not won in four outings since beating Chippenham 20-17 at home in mid-February to ensure their place in the league for next season.
Player/coach Glenn Hunt admitted: “We’ve probably wound down a bit too early and it’s been hard to find the words to keep them motivated.
“There’s no real pressure on either side and hopefully we can play some enjoyable rugby and then take the boots off and chuck them in the bin for a few months.
“It would be nice to finish on a high, but I want the performance to match and not a scrappy one.”
Assistant coach and fly-half Adam Hurst is ruled out, so James Comben comes in, while centre Dale Taylor (ankle) is also struggling.
Reading Abbey (W11 L10): Waterhouse; Gaspa-Rebul, Taylor, Anfield, Dichton; Simpson, Mutepha (c), Walsh; S Hallett, McQuillan; J Hallett, Robinson, Williams. Reps: Tovey, Brown, Selby.
Wanderers seek salvation from last game
A win for struggling Henley Wanderers at South West Division 2 East runners-up Salisbury will keep them safe in the league for another season.
It’s between them and Marlow, who entertain league leaders Chippenham, as to who goes down with Tadley and Windsor.
Props Tom Pontin and Hugo Gentilly both return, with Nick Dudding also in for Adam Cotton.
Relegated Tadley look to bow out with some panache by winning their final match away to bottom club Windsor.
“We do want to win as we don’t want to finish bottom and we’re going with the best side we can,” said skipper Tom Bailey.
Shire Hall face Berkshire rivals Thatcham at Sonning Lane (3pm) in the final Berks, Bucks & Oxon 1 South match of the season, fresh from their midweek 30-3 Berkshire Vase semi-final defeat of Hungerford.
They now face Broadmoor in the final on Sunday week at Sonning Lane (2.15pm).
Thatcham skipper Darren Osborne said: “If we lose it will be a major disappointment for us. Our main aim was to finish in the top four and if we lose we could drop to fifth or sixth.”
TEAM LINE-UPS
Henley Wanderers (W7 L14): Sutton (c); Lee, Cokely, Stebbings, Dudding; Saward, Metcalf; Pontin, N Smith, Gentilly; Downing, A Smith; Woodward, Padison, Dupee. Reps: Jones, Thomas, Haines.
Tadley (W4 L17): Dennison; Smith, Pike, Williams, Dampies; Lowe, Choules, Swadling; Harris, Tucker; Seal, Summers, Healy. Reps: Vatcher, Collins, Murray, Cribbs-Jones.
Thatcham (W13 D1 L5): Cox; Neville, Taylor, Hudson, Niven; Littlechild, L Evans; Shepherd, Carlick, Chambers; Langdon, Broughton; Kirk, J Evans, Osborne (c). Reps: Roach, Hampson, Gibson, Rance.