SALISBURY Rugby Club firsts put their cup disappointment firmly behind them, registering a convincing win at Henley Wanderers' Dryleas ground to keep their promotion hopes alive and kicking.

A guaranteed play-off place is now just one point away for the Castle Road outfit.

They face fellow title contenders Bournemouth in their final game of the season on Saturday, April 14 - a finale that is still theoretically capable of influencing the destination of the South West Division Two (East) honours.

However, Bournemouth head into the game having just lost to Redingensians, who are now prohibitive favourites to be the league champions.

Should Salisbury win or draw and secure second place, they will earn a one-off play-off with the South West Division Two (West) runners-up.

Saturday's game was always a must-win for Salisbury, but it got off to a worrying start for the promotion-chasers, who were initially caught cold by the hosts' attacking impetus.

Henley enjoyed ten minutes of good possession and were deft enough to release good ball to their speedy winger who ran clear to score in the corner.

The early wake-up call stung the Salisbury pack into action and they began to operate much more efficiently, wearing down the Henley defence phase after phase.

The ball was slipped out right by Tom Buckingham, passing through several pairs of hands before returning to the originator of the move, who sliced through for Salisbury's opening try.

Once in the ascendancy, the visitors kept up the pressure, Richard Roe proving strong enough to cross the line despite a bevy of defenders desperately trying to drag him down.

With 30 minutes gone, skipper Liam Gilbert added a penalty to put Salisbury 13-5 ahead at the break.

From the restart, Henley tried to get back into it and some desperate scrambled defence by Salisbury just managed to keep them at bay.

Phil Carr settled Salisbury's jitters once and for all, receiving the ball out wide and sprinting clear to cross the line for a fine individual try.

Gilbert was again on target with the conversion.

The lead looked solid enough and all Salisbury had to do was continue in the same vein to be certain of victory.

However, Henley continued to battle hard, scoring a deserved consolation try through their number eight.

The last word still went to Salisbury, Dave Thorpe scoring right on the stroke of full-time following a series of mauls close to the Henley tryline.

The result sets up what is sure to be a thriller of a game at Bournemouth a week on Saturday.

The skipper said: "We've got two hard weeks of training befor then but the mood in the camp is very positive.

"The season has gone exactly according to plan so far and everyone's looking forward to heading down there and getting that play-off place.

"A win or a draw and it's ours but we're under no illusions - it won't be easy and Bournemouth won't give it up without a fight.

"We're coming off the back of a good performance, whereas their loss on Saturday means they've given up a chance of winning automatic promotion, so they'll have a point to prove."

With the exception of Dave Bell, who is still out injured, Salisbury expect to field a full-strength side for the crunch match, while Bournemouth may well find their resources depleted having picked up a hefty crop of bookings against Redingensians.

Gilbert said: "We'll be taking a good crowd with us to cheer us on.

"Hopefully, we can make it a good day out for all of us."