SALISBURY Rugby Club struck what could yet prove to be a crucial blow in their battle for promotion from South West Division Two (East) by clinching a dramatic victory over fellow high-fliers Cheltenham.

The Castle Road side found their hosts at the Prince of Wales Stadium in confident mood.

With both teams still in the title race, this was always going to be a hard-fought contest, but neither side could have predicted just how nerve-janglingly close it would turn out to be.

Salisbury were first on the scoresheet, capitalising on a delayed throw-in at the line-out. The resulting penalty was taken quickly by Tim Shipsey and then passed through the backs for Richard Lang to touch down for a textbook try.

Cheltenham, visibly shaken by the early blow, rallied well and eventually carved open the Salisbury defence to touch down for an equalising try with just 12 minutes on the clock.

The hosts' fly-half James Butler sold a dummy to the Salisbury defenders before successfully converting the try to give Cheltenham a slim lead.

Lang again finished off a smooth passing move, crossing for his - and Salisbury's - second try of the afternoon.

This time, Tom Pottage was on target with the conversion.

Cheltenham, realising that they were in danger of losing the momentum, raised the tempo and from a rolling maul pushed over the line to go in at the break with a slim lead.

Early in the second half, Cheltenham tried a shift in tactics, abandoning hope of competing in the scrums and instead mounting rapid attacks from open play.

It paid off when Cheltenham's flanker Fortune Chipendu broke away from the base of the scrum, made a looping break and set up their outside centre for his second try.

Suddenly, Cheltenham had a ten point lead and Salisbury were on the back foot.

But the magnitude of the occasion and the closeness of the title race meant that only a win would do, so Salisbury steeled themselves and went on the attack once more.

It was Phil Chesters who turned the tide back in the visitors' favour, making one of his trademark runs through the opposition line before touching down unchallenged.

The try was again converted by Pottage, who is undisputedly Salisbury's number one kicker in the absence of Liam Gilbert who is recuperating following a shoulder operation.

But before they could capitalise and look for the try that could take them into the lead, Salisbury conceded a penalty.

With 20 minutes remaining, Salisbury desperately needed another try.

But, with the clock ticking down, they were faced with the real danger that any mistake would allow Cheltenham to launch a counter attack and open up a lead too great to be reeled in.

Knowing that it was all or nothing, Salisbury's forwards rallied and went for it.

The ball was shipped across the line and fell to David Thorpe and he seized the moment, evading numerous tackles before touching down for a try, which was subsequently converted by Pottage.

The final minutes were truly nailbiting, with possession continually passing back and forth.

Either side looked equally likely to score again and, with one point in it, any score was guaranteed to change the result.

In added time Salisbury held their breaths when Cheltenham were awarded a penalty but, fortunately for the visitors, it sailed wide of the posts.

Having come through the sternest of tests, Salisbury have moved into clear third place and put themselves even more firmly in the promotion frame.

On Saturday, Salisbury are at home to old foes Swanage and Wareham, who currently hold second spot.

Captain Dave Bell said: "The fact that we've still got to play Swanage at our place means, to some extent, that our fate is still in our own hands.

"Chippenham have lost again since we beat them the other week and they've still got to go to Cheltenham, who had not lost at home in two years before last weekend.

"As long as we do our job and keep winning, things could go our way.

"We have had a good rivalry going with Swanage for a few years now and I think we know enough about them and their game plan to feel confident that we can give that little bit extra on Saturday."

The skipper called for a good crowd at Castle Road to cheer his side on.

He said: "The support really does make all the difference in those last 20 minutes, particularly when it's a close game.

"It's been a great season so far. Not all of our wins have been too pretty to look at but I'm sure all will be forgiven if we can round it off with promotion."

4:04pm Wednesday 5th March 2008

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