The decision of the RFU to suspend relegation for a year has left a rather unreal air over the end of the season and coach Ben Harvey said: "People will probably look at me with a wry smile but we were quite looking forward to a bit of pressure on us because I think it would have brought the best out of our squad."

As it is the pressure is off and the season is drifting to a close.

Harvey said: "We had such a small squad this year. I was talking to Nottingham and they brought their whole squad down, that was 35 fit players, so I presume they had some injured.

"We started with 29 at the start of the season and at the weekend we were down to 20 and got special dispensation to borrow two players off Gloucester United.

"It is a bit of a struggle at the moment. We have suffered from a very small squad and this league is unforgiving when it comes to that.

"There is a bit of a demob attitude about us and I have spoken to some of the other teams and they feel the same."

Tomorrow sees a clash with a team promoted last season who, after a fine start, are finding life hard in National One.

Harvey said: "Newbury play a fast, open game. They started off the season quite well at that but as the season has gone on I think they have realised that a more pragmatic view is sometimes what is needed in this league.

"They are not dealing with Premiership players or the level of skill and conditioning of the Premiership."

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