BASINGSTOKE ended their South West One rugby campaign in style by demolishing St Ives to secure fifth place in the table and earn fulsome praise from director of rugby Jim Dixon.

As 'Stoke signed off a challenging 2006-07 season with a thrilling victory at a packed Down Grange, the delighted player-coach hailed the club's finishing spot as a "fantastic achievement, considering all of the injuries and disruptions we've had to deal with this season."

On a glorious, sunny April Saturday, 'Stoke played super expansive rugby and ran in seven quality tries, wings Karl Buttle and Carl Saunders each grabbing braces, while Simon Humberstone, Myles Rutherford and Robbie Northcote also got in on the act with fine scores.

Following their 17-0 win at Weston-super-Mare two weeks ago, 'Stoke's league fate was already assured, and skipper Ross Stirling felt that helped contribute to the team's positive finale.

The 24-year-old second row said: "After beating Weston, the pressure was off us, so it was a game we could go out there and enjoy playing. There haven't been many like that this season.

"It was a tough game - you know you're going to get a hard, physical battle from St Ives and Cornish sides - and we still had to work hard.

"But we played some of our best attacking rugby of the season - and you could see the boys enjoyed it.

"We all wanted to beat St Ives and try and finish fifth - and I think we fully deserve to."

With Mounts Bay already assured the title and promotion, their match against second-placed Cleve was postponed until this coming Saturday, due to EDF Intermediate Cup final commitments.

Bay beat Dunstablians 46-36 to win at Twickenham on Sunday to claim their second trophy of the season.

But it meant the South West One relegation battle took prominence on Saturday.

And Bracknell's 32-20 win over Berkshire rivals Reading kept Chris Sheasby's men up, ensuring Chippenham suffered the agony of the drop.

Their 25-22 win away at Oxford Harlequins was not enough, as they were condemned to relegation on points difference - -3 to Harlequins' +16.

But there were no such worries for 'Stoke, who completed their 12th win of the season and a first victory over St Ives in three meetings.

Dixon said: "We should have beaten them back in November but let them back into the game and gave it away, so we were determined to finish the job off on home turf.

"A lot of our younger lads who played down in St Ives are a little bit older, stronger and wiser now, and the performance today showed how far they've come in the past five months."

Dixon pledged beforehand his side would spread the ball wide.

It was a winning formula his players followed from the off, as teenage talent Buttle scored after just three minutes.

Mike Goodall converted and later added a penalty to put 'Stoke 10-0 up in as many minutes.

However, ill-discipline in face of St Ives pressure yielded the visitors three penalties that fly-half Karl Martin nailed to make it 10-9.

Buttle's second score, following strong scrummaging five metres from the line, made it 15-9 just before the interval, and Saunders further advanced the 'Stoke lead with a lovely try on 42 minutes.

The Royal Marine - recently back from a six-month stint in Afghanistan - came off his wing to link up with Rutherford and collect his lay-off after another great scrum.

Goodall converted, as he did on 60 minutes when Humberstone's tap penalty and 70-metre break through a ragged St Ives earned another try that got the crowd roaring their approval.

Making his 50th full start, the fly-half put in a man-of-the-match display, tackling tenaciously and making many a darting break.

Assured handling from Stirling, Tom Northcote and Tim Richards, who earlier suffered a head wound, saw Saunders over once more.

Leading 32-9 and clearly enjoying themselves, 'Stoke scored try number six when Aussie centre Rutherford copied Humberstone with an incisive, lengthy burst through midfield and a non-existent defence to touch down under the posts. Goodall converted.

And with the champagne rugby in full flow, Dixon and Buttle combined on the left flank to set Robbie Northcote away just before full-time.

The big blindside flanker stretched his legs to charge 30 metres and then launch a superman dive over to score and seal 'Stoke's success.

Aussie hooker Andrew Rowlands, making his final appearance before he returns to Brisbane tomorrow, said it was the "perfect way to end two fabulous years" with the club.

'Stoke : Mike Goodall; Carl Saunders, Tim Richards, Myles Rutherford, Karl Buttle; Simon Humberstone, Jamie Fish (rep Darren Lillywhite 60min); Neil Young, Andrew Rowlands (rep Jamie Folan 55min), Shane Murphy; Ross Stirling, Chris Williams (rep James Saunders 74min); Robbie Northcote, Jim Dixon, Tom Northcote.