MARLOW put the disappointment of losing the league title behind them to win the Bucks Cup and secure a place in the Tetley Bitter Cup next season.

They beat Slough 11-10 in the final to make up for being pipped in the league title race by Salisbury, who beat them by just six points on goals difference, writes Steve Blake.

It was the perfect end to an eventful 50th anniversary season for Marlow who captured the county crown for the second time in three seasons.

On the hottest day of the year so far, the two teams played out a tense game that was by no means a classic. However on balance, Dave Vickers' Marlow team deserved their prize.

Marlow went into the game odds on favourites, with Slough a league below them this season. The favourites should have tied the game up comfortably early on but failed to capitalise.

Dominating from the beginning, Marlow kept Slough pinned into their half for virtually all of the first half hour, but their only reward was a Murray Walker penalty.

Slough only made two real incursions into Marlow's half in this time. But they could have lead with two kickable penalties which were both missed by full back Waters.

The occasion seemed to get to both sets of backs, with a multitude of handling errors on both sides increasing the scrum count considerably.

Slough drew level with seven minutes to go in the first half, with a first penalty success for Waters.

The second half was somewhat disrupted by some fussy refereeing and both teams were repeatedly penalised for feeding at the scrum and off-centre throws at the line-outs.

Murray Walker's penalty put Marlow back in front before Slough took the lead with the first try of the afternoon and converted it for a 10-6 lead on 65 minutes.

This was the wake-up call Marlow needed, and they responded with an unconverted Fisher try five minutes later to regain the lead at 11-10. The remaining time was played out with both teams attacking from deep, knowing that a try either way would seal it.

Both sides had chances to win it and Marlow's nerves were fraying.

With a Slough scrum under the Marlow posts, and Johnson well positioned for the drop goal, the referee once again penalised Slough for feeding into the scrum. Marlow cleared their lines again, only for Slough to make a last-gasp effort. The ball chipped over the Marlow backs into the goal area, only for Simon Burnell to ground the ball safely in the last moment of the game.

Slough will have two chances for revenge next year, as promotion to South West Division Two sees them once again doing battle with Marlow, along with a host of other local clubs.

Afterwards Marlow captain David Vickers paid tribute to coach Derek White, who has just had his testimonial, for building a strong and committed team capable of winning the County Cup and coming so close to winning promotion as well.

Marlow will now go into next season as County Champions and the favourites to win the league title, in a division which now includes their old rivals High Wycombe who have fallen from grace.

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