PRINCES Risborough RFC are still clinging to life in the BB&O Premier Division.

They beat second-from-bottom Harwell 35-6 last weekend to close the gap at the foot of the table to two points and, if nothing else, earn the team a stay of execution.

Chairman Andy Emmett said: “It would have put a nail in the coffin if we’d lost. We would have struggled to get off the bottom but now we’re just two points away from them and within striking distance.”

Risborough lost seven in a row at the start of the season and found themselves adrift at the foot of the league, but both the teams immediately above them have been beaten in recent weeks and there is a new-found hope inside the dressing room.

Emmett said: “What we’re doing at the moment is we’re fighting for pride and showing what we’re made of.

“Saturday was a must-win game for us but we’ve got some big games coming up. Some of them are against the big teams but we’ve also got some games against the teams around us and we know there are teams out there that are beatable.

“Defensively we can hold teams and now we’re showing the ability to score tries.”

Rob McMurray and Rowan Packa both crossed twice against Harwell with Nick Grimsdell also going over, they will need that sort of finishing again in the coming weeks.

On Saturday they go to eighth-placed Hungerford before Littlemore, who are seventh, are the visitors the following weekend.

Emmett said: “It would be a hell of an achievement if we stayed up. As chairman, I think it would be a huge step for the club.”