KIDDERMINSTER Carolians RFC head coach Dave Irish believes that the win over relegation rivals Berkswell and Balsall sets them up for a tough end to the season.

Saturday's win ensured that KCs leapfrogged Berkswell to third from bottom, creating vital breathing space between themselves and bottom side Old Silhillians.

With 'four-pointers' against Old Sils and relegation threatened Old Coventrians coming up in the next few weeks, Irish believes that the Berkswell sets them up nicely.

"It was such a big win for us because of our league position," said Irish.

"We've got a couple of these four-pointers coming up in the next few weeks so it's important that we got the win.

"The most pleasing aspect has been the fact that we led throughout the game, even when Berkswell got close.

"There's been occasions in the past when we may have been caught but we stood strong and held on for the win.

"Berkswell beat a good side like Nuneaton last week, which illustrates how close the division is."

With a new professional tier set to be created it's not clear how this will affect the lower echelons of rugby.

It mean may that there will be no relegation from the Midlands Division Three West (South), while as many as five teams could win promotion this season.

However, no final decision has been made about promotion or relegation yet, which means KCs cannot afford to take their foot off the pedal at high-flying.

Irish said: "There's talk that the top five in our division may go up, which is a shame because we're not really in with a chance of finishing that high.

"Still we must concentrate on finishing as high up the table as possible."

Centre Ben Stanier is a doubt for Saturday's league clash at Earlsdon, while captain Ben Turner is set to miss the rest of the season because of his serious knee injury.

"Earlsdon will be a tough test but I am confident we can go and give them a good game," commented the coach.

"We've not been trounced all season so I'm sure we'll give a good account of ourselves."


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