Wath Rugby Club secured their promotion back to the top flight of county rugby with a narrow victory at Dinnington on Saturday.
The Wath lads knew they needed a minimum of two points to secure second spot in Yorkshire Two.
They got the full five with a 34-29 win against a spirited Dinnington who are still in the relegation mix and fought hard throughout.
Tries from Alex Butterworth and a penalty try gave Wath, battling against a strong wind, a 12-8 lead at the interval.
Wind-assisted Wath took command of the game in the second period with Luke Stead bashing over with Jack Whitlam converting and then Adam Clark scored a slick brace off the wing. James Dobson also went over.
That gave Wath a decent cushion bit Dinnington went over twice late on to erode the lead away and secure two valuable points in their bid for survival.
Ripon, who were beaten by Wath in last season's Papa John's Plate finale, now can't catch the Dearnesiders as they remain nine points behind with only one game left to play.
Wath still have a slight hope of winning the title but would need to win their last game, at home against relegated Leeds Corinthians, with a bonus point and hope North Ribblesdale pick up no points against Ripon.
Both those games are on April 6 before the Papa John’s Community cup competition starts.
