HIGH Wycombe RFC's players should not be short of motivation when they play Tadley tomorrow.
First up, they will want to avenge an opening day defeat at Tadley, when Wycombe had the game won.
Secondly, they take the field knowing they are just 80 minutes from finally seeing off the threat of relegation.
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And thirdly, they need to play well to keep their place for the Bucks Cup Final the following weekend.
But there is a potential flaw; Wycombe have not played a competitive game since beating Windsor on March 8, and the club are traditionally slow to get going again after a break.
Coach Dave Rutherford did try and fill in the gaps with a friendly against Ruislip two weeks ago but plans for an in-house training match last weekend had to be scrapped.
He said: "They will have a bit of a beasting at training. They really seem to enjoy themselves when they don't have a game so who knows what they'd be like after missing two games.
"But the motivation is there. If we win this we're safe, no-one could catch us then, and that would be a massive lift going into the Cup Final."
Tadley are second from bottom, but they did take points off Wycombe in a 20-15 victory at the start of the season.
Rutherford said: "We have a few demons to exorcise. We let the game slip against them. They didn't deserve to win but they did.
"For some reason we stopped playing and gifted them two tries.
"So there is plenty of motivation for this. The players will be up for it."
And Rutherford has warned his troops that anyone who does not perform could face the axe before the Bucks Cup Final against Milton Keynes the following weekend.
Wycombe are the defending champions and made it through to the final when Beaconsfield pulled out their last-four showdown saying they could not raise a team.
Rutherford said: "Wycombe would have sent a fourth team if we had to.
"You have to play a cup semi-final, you never know what team the opposition were going to send out.
"Beaconsfield have done it to us twice in a row now. They pulled out the quarter-finals last year and now they've pulled out the semi-finals.
"I hope we get them in the Final next year now."
Meanwhile, Marlow host Salisbury in another crucial South West One fixture, while Chinnor look to consolidate their narrow lead with victory over Weston-Super-Mare.
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