BARNSLEY RUFC have secured safety in Yorkshire Division Three and are hoping to be further up the table in future seasons.
They lost 28-17 at home to leaders Old Otliensians but other results meant they are six points clear of the bottom two with a game to play so cannot be caught.
They lost 11 of their first 12 matches this season including ten in a row which left them last and ten points adrift in the bottom two.
But they have won five of their last nine games to complete a similar comeback to last season.
Coach Tom Kittrick said: “We turned it around after Christmas, got a few wins back to back and got players back from injury.
“Even though we’ve been struggling at times and lost ten on the bounce, the feeling around the club has always been positive. We just need to change the culture to being used to winning.
“The league table and the results this season are not what we wanted.
“But at least we didn’t leave it until the last day like last season.”
Kittrick is hopeful of avoiding a third straight relegation fight next season.
He said: “We’re not in this league to be fighting every year.
“It’s just trying to get people consistently available and keep them fit which is hard in a contact sport.
“We can’t afford to have a slow start again. We need to push recruitment so we have more depth. It’s hard when people don’t get paid. We try to highlight the good aspects of the club.
“Recruitment is our big goal at the minute. We can focus on that knowing we’re safe. We have a platform to build on and we will keep the positivity.
“The club is going through a lot of changes.
“The junior section needs a lot of time and work. There isn’t really one at the minute and Barnsley has always ad a good production line. We need to get that sorted.
“Mid-table is the natural step next season, on the outskirts of promotion fight then build from there.
“We will work on a three to five year plan to be a strong side in Yorkshire Division Two.
“We have the foundations, it’s just taking us a bit longer than expected.”
Barnsley will be joined next season by Division Four champions Dearne Valley who play just inside the Barnsley Borough in Bolton-upon-Dearne.
“Dearne and Hemsworth coming in makes the league more local. Dearne have a little bit of a different model.
“They pay players and we try to do it organically. But it’s working for them and good luck to them.”
Against Otliensians, Tom Hardwick and Tom Henighan scored tries with Joe Perry converting both and adding a penalty.
Kittrick said: “We probably deserved something from the game and it was our best performance of the season.
“We had eight players out injured still but it was the strongest team we’ve picked this season.
“Last season we sometimes had 15 or 16 players available but on Saturday we had 28. It was the first time the team hadn’t just picked itself.
“We lost 80-0 away to them so we’ve come a long way.”
Barnsley Ladies lost 29-26 at West Park Leeds in Championship One North. Their last game of the season is on Saturday at home to Sale.
Wath lost 12-7 at Leodiensian in Yorkshire Division One. Jack Whitlam scored a try and converted it.
Dearne Valley won 81-5 at home to Wortley in Yorkshire Division Four.
There were hat-tricks for Sam Holt and Steve Mason with Ben Hartley scoring twice while also going over were Jack Duggan, Jacob Mangham, Alex Mincher, Callum Emery and Stephen Shaw. Emery converted six tries and Shaw two.
