THE immovable object meets the irresistible force at Braywick tomorrow (Saturday), as league leaders Maidenhead take on title rivals Swanage & Wareham.
With just four games of the season remaining, only points-difference separates the two sides, meaning this match should be the promotion decider.
Both sides have had injury problems in recent weeks, but Maidenhead coach Simon Edwards has moved quickly to address his, signing Scotland under 21 international Richie Craig from Henley Hawks to replace injured hooker Malcolm Eddington.
South African lock Jacques Botha is also out, but the return of Nick Kertesz from America could hardly have been timed better, with the youngster providing top class lineout skills and genuine pace.
Dropped for this match are Maidenhead’s top three try scorers, centre Stuart Mackay, winger Alex Greer and No.8 Piers Morgan, who starts on the bench.
Edwards said: “I’ve thought really hard about it and I have selected a team to do a specific job. It’s a mix of youth, experience and power.
“I want a rock-solid defence with attacking flair, who are able to run the ball.”
To this end, winger Simon Cripps is back in the starting line-up, after coming on as sub and scoring a try-of-the-season contender in Frome on Saturday.
Pete Nisbet comes into the centres and club captain Robin Bryant starts in place of Morgan at No.8.
In addition to new signings and tactical changes, the squad has also increased its efforts in training this week, with the players staying out on the practice ground late into the night.
Edwards said: “We’ve worked very, very hard. We couldn’t have prepared better. We’ve watched Swanage two or three times and we think we know their strengths and weaknesses.
“They are the best defensive side in the league and I believe defences win leagues.
“But if you take away our first three games of the season, when we conceded 80 points, I’d say we have as good a defence as theirs, but we’ve scored 100 points more than them.”
Asked to assess Maidenhead’s chances, Edwards was equivocal.
He said: “It’s an interesting one, but I believe we’re starting the game on a par with them, or as underdogs. They have beaten us on the last three occasions, so we’re certainly not favourites, although being at home helps.
“I have worked very hard to find some cracks in their armour They are very well coached and their defensive system is very good.
“And they play for 80 minutes. You never feel you’ve beaten them until the final whistle blows.
“But I have never lost to Swanage as a coach and I take great pride in that.
“I found it very hard to stomach when we lost to them twice in the league last year (under Tony Brooks) and we mustn’t let them win four in a row.”

A view from the West Country

DESPITE all the hype surrounding tomorrow's (Saturday's) top-of-table showdown at Braywick, Maidenhead coach Simon Edwards believes the season is far from over.
He said: “If we win this we still have some big games ahead of us. It would be foolhardy to say 'We win this, we win the league’.”
However, Swanage & Wareham appear to be throwing caution to the wind, claiming Saturday's match is the title decider.
Team manager Rob Brenton said: “It’s a two-horse race. If we can win on Saturday we’ll be fairly confident of holding out for the rest of the season and clinching the title.
“Even if we don’t we’re not overly worried. We’ve already secured the play-off berth.
“But we’ll still be going all out to win it on Saturday.”
Asked to outline a match plan, Brenton kept it simple and focused on his side's awesome defensive record.
He said: “We’re looking forward to it.
“It’s an opportunity to put the seal on our season, so we’re going to give it our best shot.
“We have had a couple of reports on Maidenhead and they sound like a useful outfit.
“But the tougher the opposition the better we seem to play.
“The points scored against Maidenhead is almost double ours. (224 to 131).
“If we can keep the ball and apply pressure we will score points.”
Swanage's preparations for the game also appear to have gone well.
Brenton added: “Generally it’s been pretty good and we’ve managed to prepare reasonably well.
“We’ve got a couple of niggling injuries, one of which is doubtful. But apart from that it’s pretty much a full strength side.”
“The guys really want to win. They want the title.
“Motivation-wise, they really want it. There’s no problem there.”
The club’s press officer Ron Butler was slightly more cautious, claiming the Swans had been happy just to beat Maidenhead at home.
He said: “I don’t think we expect to win but we’ll put up a good fight.
“We have quite a few injuries and a lot depends on who is fit enough to play.
“It just depends what happens on the day.”