LUCTONIANS need a big favour from the side who put a severe dent in their own promotion hopes.

The north Herefordshire outfit must win against second-placed Kenilworth on Saturday to stand any chance of reaching the promotion play-off match.

It is an intriguing last-day scenario with Luctonians, Kenilworth and Chester all fighting for the second spot in Midlands 1.

Anything less than a victory would take Luctonians out of the equation.

Should Luctonians win, they will then need Newport to beat or hold third-placed Chester, who are at home, to a draw.

Kenilworth, of course, will retain second place and progress into the play-off match if they win at Mortimer Park.

Kenilworth recorded a 25-12 success over Luctonians in November.

“I think it’s in Chester’s hands,” said Luctonians’ skipper Chris Jaques.

“Everyone at the club is a bit disappointed with how things have turned out,” he said.

“We can only try to beat Kenilworth and the rest will take care of itself.

“We will be telephoning the club at Chester after our game and I expect they will be phoning our club.”

Luctonians headed the table at Christmas but have slipped to fourth place after a 16-3 defeat to Newport in their penultimate league match.

That reverse took Luctonians’ destiny out of their own hands.

Jaques said: “We made such a good start to the season but, being top of the table, is always a tough honour to wear.

“When you are top, everyone wants to beat you and you have to give 100% all of the time.”

Jaques said that Luctonians’ hopes had been hamstrung by injuries to key players.

“We have been unlucky with a few injuries and being out in the sticks means it’s difficult to compete with clubs from bigger areas with more resources.

“But it looks like we could fall a hurdle short in what we set out to achieve at the start of the season.

“It will be disappointing but, in reality, it would still be an excellent achievement for the club,” said Jaques.

Broadstreet have already clinched the Midlands 1 title.