Trojans are deep into another relegation fight with just a couple of games left to rescue their season.

The Stoneham Lane-based club, who dropped down from London 1 South last term, are third-from-bottom in SW2 after losing 24-13 to London Cornish at home, writes CLIVE DOWNTON.

To add pressure to their predicament, second-from-bottom Portsmouth have what could turn out to be a vital game in hand which will be played at the end of the season.

Trojans also face the prospect of taking on run-away leaders Guildford away in their next fixture.

But, if Saturday’s plucky game against one of the leading sides is anything to go by, Trojans could still survive.

They controlled the first half against a very good Cornish side but went into the break just 8-0 up through a Simon Greenhalgh try and a Chris Lynch penalty.

The home side then made a slow start to the second half with mistakes leading to two Cornish tries in the first ten minutes followed by a goal on the quarter.

At nine points behind Trojans began to pick up their game and put pressure on the Cornish defence resulting with a well taken try in the corner by Chris Hamp.

With just a four-point deficit, Trojans threw everything into the game and were pulled up short of the Cornish line several times. Right on normal time Cornish kicked long to relieve the pressure and a defensive mistake led to another Cornish goal.

Trojans’ chairman, Shaun Magill, said: “We are now in a situation where we are depending on other people to get things wrong. Before Christmas we were doing OK. We have put in reasonable performances but do not seem able to finish teams off.

“Technically we can still stay up but Portsmouth have a game in hand which does not help us.

“We have a thin hope but it is out of our hands.”

Rugby review in today's Daily Echo