Otley's head coach Mark Luffman has given a guarded response to the Rugby Football Union's proposal to cut National League One by four teams in time for the start of the 2010-11 season.

The RFU want the second tier of English rugby to be a 12-team, full-time division to make for an easier transition to the Premiership.

One drawback, of course, is that there would be eight less league fixtures with nothing obvious to replace them but Luffman said: "I haven't really paid too much notice to the plans because the RFU tend to change their mind quite a bit.

"But I know it is easier for full-time squads to cope with the fixture list as it stands at the moment, so reducing the amount of games would get my vote as head coach of a part-time club."

Luffman's team went down 22-8 to National League One Bedford last week in the EDF Energy National Trophy.

He said: "I think we played pretty well. Our defence was good and they scored three tries, two of which when we were down to 14 men because of sin-binnings.

"They didn't really breach our defence and, with a bit more accuracy, the result could have been closer.

"The sin-binnings meant that we couldn't put pressure on them and instead they put pressure on us."

National League Two leaders Otley, who are at home to sixth-placed Westcombe Park on Saturday, are awaiting the result of a fitness test on Rob Whatmuff.

He left the field with a dead leg' last weekend but Otley will definitely be without fellow centre Paul Mooney, who is unavailable.