Pertemps Bees have had their triumphs, wins over full time outfits such as Plymouth, Coventry and Exeter among them, but much of the season has been spent with, in the words of director of rugby Phil Maynard, fingers in the dyke holding back the flood.

Coach John White said: "The fact we started as a small squad and have picked up injuries - which you are more likely to do incidentally with a small squad - has left us vulnerable."

Last weekend patched up Bees went down 36-18 at home to Nottingham with players filling holes in the squad rather than appearing in their recognised positions.

With no relegation this season, the fact Bees are bottom of National One, eight points adrift of what would normally be safety with just two games to play, is more a matter of bruised pride rather than anything more serious. But next season will be another story with 30 league games instead of 26 to contend with and, if the trend continues, there will be even more full-time teams competing in the second tier of English rugby.

White added: "The increase in the size of the league has enabled sides to focus on how they are going to cope. It has drawn attention to squad size and squad composition.

"I know Phil (Maynard) has been working flat out for the past three weeks to fill what we consider to be our key priorities and to retain the players we wish to retain.

"There are four extra games and from what I can see the only four Saturdays off seem to centre around internationals. I shudder to think about the difficulties we would have been in this year had it not been for the weekends off that occur."

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