SKIPPER James Shewell has called on Droitwich to put their dreams of another Twickenham appearance on hold – and be fully focused on their league exploits.
The Salt Boys booked their place in the final of the RFU Midlands Intermediate Cup following their 17-12 victory over Midlands Two West (North) outfit Leek last weekend.
However, the celebrations must be brought to an abrupt stop as Shewell targets a 36th consecutive league victory when table-topping Droitwich make the trip to eighth-placed Berkswell & Balsall tomorrow (Saturday).
“The league is our main target and we do not want our cup ventures to have any affect on that,” he said.
“We know how tough Berkswell & Balsall are as a side so we need to be fully focused to keep our winning run going.
“They are very strong, physical and aggressive and they are the kind of side which can beat us on their day.
“However, we have got a good squad with a good mentality and I am sure we can get the job done if we concentrate and keep our cool.”
It was by no means easy for Droitwich to secure their place in the Midlands final as they faced a stubborn Leek outfit last weekend in Staffordshire.
The Salt Boys had the best of the opening ten minutes with Josh Skinner crossing the tryline and Bobby Scott-Walker kicking the extras from out wide.
Scott-Walker then kicked a drop goal a few minutes later which sailed between the posts with apparent ease.
But the Staffordshire hosts hit back with an unconverted try as Droitwich went into the break 10-5 to the good.
Following the interval Ruben Staite touched down in the corner for the second Droitwich try, with Scott-Walker kicking the difficult conversion to make it 17-5.
However, as the game progressed Leek got stronger and were rewarded with a converted try to set up a tense finale.
Despite the late onslaught, Droitwich held on to secure a place in the Midlands final.
“It was a very close game affair as two good sides with very good defences came to blows,” said Shewell.
“Both teams found it very hard to unlock the other but I was glad we got the result in the end.
“There were a few nervous fans when Leek made it 17-12 but on the pitch we were quite calm.”
