SOUTH West Division Two clubs are set to vote on plans to introduce end of year soccer-style play-offs, the Bucks Free Press can reveal.

The RFU announced the proposals in a bid to stop matches like last Saturday's affair between Marlow and Chiltern being meaningless apart from the battle for local pride.

Both teams went into the match knowing that they have little chance of catching runaway leaders Dorchester for the one promotion slot. Dorchester are so far ahead at the top that even though it is only January the top eight clubs have nothing left to play for.

But if the RFU's play-off plan gets the nod that will all change next season with teams still having plenty to play for until the final Saturday in April.

As the sketchy proposals stand at the moment, it looks as though the top team in the division will be promoted automatically with the next four taking part in a series of play-off matches.

Nothing can change for this season but the RFU wants the proposals in place next season.

As it is though, last Saturday's match between Marlow and Chiltern had only local pride resting on it.

And the battle to be the Best in Bucks took a new twist with Chiltern gaining revenge for their home defeat earlier in the season with a 31-12 victory at Riverwoods.

Marlow still sit third in the table but Amersham and Chiltern are now just one point and one place behind in fourth.

Chiltern thoroughly deserved to overturn their defeat earlier in the season, against an injury-hit Marlow side which turned in one of its poorest performances of the season.

The script was written early on when Paul Luker scored with Chiltern's first attack as they showed no ill-effects of their enforced inactivity over the last four weeks because of waterlogged pitches, scoring four cracking tries to secure a deserved victory.

Four minutes later, Brian Richardson was back in the action to touch down his own kick forward.

Shell-shocked Marlow hit back after 25 minutes with a blind side break from Kevin Rich. His speed took him past the Chiltern back row cover and he fed fly half Murray Walker, who raced 30 yards to touch down.

But Chiltern took just two minutes to reassert themselves when Matt McHardy scored between the posts and Choules made the kick.

Mason pulled one back for the home side before the break but that was Marlow's last score.

Marlow had more of the play after the turnaround but their pressure went unrewarded as David Choules' penalty and a try by captain Chris Luker extended Chiltern's lead.

Tomorrow, it is Chiltern's turn to try and dent table-topping Dorchester's 100 per cent record when they visit Weedon Lane, while Marlow travel to Slough.

For their match, Marlow expect to have coach Derek White back in charge again.

He missed the Chiltern derby with flu and therefore missed the promising debut of prop Richard McPhee who, along with Kevin Rich, provided the bright spots of an otherwise disappointing Marlow performance in front of a large Riverwoods crowd.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.