WORCESTER and Leeds Tykes go into the New Year with hopes high of clinching promotion to rugby's elite and it could well be that the March clash between the two will decide the National One championship.
The Sixways club have already beaten their York-shire rivals 40-13 back in September but still have to travel to Headingley on Mar-ch 31 for what promises to be a Titanic tussle.
Adrian Skeggs' men lead the table by six points from second-placed Leeds but their rivals still have a game in hand and, at present, are the form team in the competition. Australian Skeggs' - Worcester's director of coaching - has done everything asked of him so far but with history against his club, his biggest tests are yet to come.
In the past few years, the Six-ways club have thrown the title away after Christmas on the back of an encouraging start.
And in the next few months they face some tough examinations of their title credentials before the March showdown.
With trips to Otley, Exeter, Wakefield and Bedford coming up in the next three months, Worc-ester will need to show their steel.
One thing is for sure, Leeds look like pushing them all the way and any more slip-ups like the recent defeat at Moseley and Worcester could once again be looking down the barrel.
Chief Executive Geoff Cooke admitted his job was on the line before the start of the season if the club did not win promotion so there will be no stone unturned in next year's effort.
Worcester should win this league with the amount of money poured into the squad this season and although that money breeds unfair expectation, if they do not finish as champions something has gone horribly wrong.
I think they will go all the way this year though and give this city yet another thing to be proud of. Whether the champions would go up, however, is still a mystery and that, going into the second half of the season, is the biggest disappointment of all.
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