Shropshire rugby teams' Twickenham dream lives on

The Twickenham dream continues to flicker for Shropshire's two national cup survivors - and only one of them was forced into action.

Ludlow and Cleobury Mortimer are both just four victories away from an appearance at national headquarters having reached the Midlands quarter-finals of the Intermediate Cup and Junior Vase respectively.

And it was a straight-forward passage for Ludlow whose opponents Berkswell & Balsall - who were due to host the big cup clash - made an 11th hour withdrawal.

"We had a phone call at 5.30pm on Friday saying they couldn't play because they hadn't got a front row," said Ludlow spokesman Phil Norton.

"It was frustrating because we wanted to have the chance to keep the recent momentum going with another good performance and win.

"But it's another step in the right direction in the competition and we are just hoping for a home draw in the next round."

That draw is due to take place tomorrow, with Midlands competitions committee chairman Paul Kaminski confirming Ludlow will be awarded a bye following Berkswell's withdrawal.

Support

Cleobury Mortimer's hopes of a return to Twickenham — they were memorably Junior Vase finalists in 2006 — remain intact after a convincing 30-0 home victory over Claverdon on Saturday.

"It was a really strong performance against a decent side," said team manager Paul Harding and captain for the trip to Twickenham four years ago.

"There were some really good individual displays, particularly from Willie Bache who played out of his skin at scrum half.

"We are enjoying the run and you can never say never in terms of going all the way.

"The support we had on Saturday — and the noise they made — was phenomenal."

Bache led the way with a try while Colin Todd, Allan Shields and Tom Griffiths also crossed the line.

It proved a memorable day for Shields who also kicked a drop goal, a penalty and two conversions.