BOTH Wharfedale and Skipton have faced recent matches with special incentives to put their best foot forward, the Dalesmen needing to stay well clear of the relegation zone and Skipton looking to move further down the road to Twickenham in the Powergen Vase.

Both have come through their tests with flying colours and the hope must be that tomorrow North Ribblesdale can repeat the process when they visit Pocklington in a bottom of the table league clash in Yorkshire One.

Last season the Settle side hit a mid-term purple patch the propelled them into the higher reaches of the division and while they faded a touch in the later stages, they still finished comfortably.

Sadly, this season has not brought a repetition to date, so that they travel to East Yorkshire tomorrow just one place and a couple of points outside the two relegation places.

Pocklington need an inspired run of form to escape. The two clubs nearest to them - West Park Bramhope and Ribblesdale - both have two games in hand, but only five points currently separate the bottom six clubs, so no-one can feel entirely secure.

Ribblesdale hope to have Kiwi Simon Devoy and Jonathan Richards back to add a cutting edge at centre and they will need to make a change at fly-half, with Sean Kennedy likely to be out for a couple of weeks. John Walker is set to take over.

In the pack, Sam Boatwright comes into the back-row for the unavailable Russ Howarth.

Buoyed by an outstanding display in forcing Preston Grasshoppers further into the relegation abyss, Wharfedale are back on the Division One treadmill at Stourbridge. If the threat of relegation is not the stimulus teams enjoy, it at least gives a sense of purpose to proceedings.

The biggest task facing the side in the Midlands tomorrow may well be rousing themselves for another big effort. It is all very well talking about the motivation provided by the search for a consistent level of performance, both collectively and as individuals, but in reality, since the arrival of leagues, such incentives are no longer as inspirational as they once were.