HIGH Wycombe RFC have folded their hand after blowing their chances in the South West 1 East title race.

After storming out of the pack with a ten-game winning run that turned a two-horse race into a three-horse race, Wycombe undid all their hard work with a shock 13-12 home defeat to mid-table Witney on Saturday.

And afterwards the coaches issued a damning indictement on their players, claiming that Witney won because they were more committed.

Head coach Paul Gaster said: “I missed the game through work but the feedback I’ve had is that we were poor and they wanted it more.”

Dave Rutherford, who took the team in Gaster’s absence, agreed: “I think it’s true. I can’t put my finger on why. We had chances, but we didn’t deserve to win. We could have lost by more.”

With just two games left, Wycombe are virtually out of the equation. It would take something pretty special for them to break up the top two now and both Rutherford and Gaster admit it’s unlikely.

Rutherford said: “That’s more or less the season done. We can’t come back now, the other sides are too good.”

As if to make a point, Amersham and Maidenhead both won on Saturday to rub it in. As it stands, they would need to lose twice to offer Wycombe a way back.

Gaster said: ““Mathamatically we could still do it, but in my heart of hearts I’d say no. We’ve blown it.

“I honestly thought we would win our way in and I think a lot of the players did too. But it’s come and gone now. We can start looking at next season.”

Wycombe go to Buckingham tomorrow and there is also a Bucks Cup Final to raise themselves for – although no one knows when that will be played and another postponement until preseason 2011/12 is looking likely.