THE race for promotion out of Southern Counties North appears to be fast becoming a two-horse race between a pair of local sides.

After the most recent set of results saw wins for both Swindon and Wootton Bassett, the two Wiltshire teams have pulled away slightly from the chasing pack.

Swindon, who now hold a four-point lead on Bassett, opened up a seven-point deficit between themselves and third-placed Aylesbury after defeating the Buckinghamshire outfit 27-10 on Saturday.

Neil Loader’s side now have seven games remaining in the current campaign, six of which are against opponents from the bottom half of the league table.

Wootton Bassett kept the heat on Swindon with a 31-5 victory at Oxford on Saturday.

In difficult conditions after heavy overnight rain, Bassett took time to adapt and allowed their hosts the early advantage.

Soon the division’s form team were level, with Dan McCarthy touching down, but Bassett’s pursuit of expansive rugby was thwarted by their own indiscipline and the wet weather.

After the break, however, the visitors settled into a more suitable gameplan. McCarthy completed his hat-trick, Andy Phoenix crossed and Tim Gallimore touched down to seal a convincing win.

Number eight Gallimore said afterwards: “Conditions were really tough and we never got to grips with it in the first half.

“We tried to play too much rugby and kept gifting Oxford possession and territory.

“In the second half we kept it much tighter and our forward pack were terrific as we strangled Oxford out of the game.”

Bassett’s remaining fixtures include difficult games against Aylesbury and Grove, whilst Les Browne’s outfit come up against Swindon in what could become a winner-takes-all clash on April 2.

Elsewhere, in the Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier, Swindon College Old Boys saw off Drifters 24-6 at Pipers Way. In Dorset & Wilts 1 North, Minety beat Avonvale 20-5.