DIRECTOR of rugby Adam Drew believes his Droitwich side have “stepped up a gear” after thumping Old Halesonians 48-20 at the Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground.

Matt Handford and Phil Horton bagged braces and Dan Guest and Paddy Barrow crossed the whitewash with Bobby Scott-Walker and Chris Hooper sharing the kicking duties in the home triumph.

Droitwich’s second straight victory in Midlands One West saw them climb to ninth, 16 points clear of the bottom three with four games left.

Drew said last month’s defeats to lowly Moseley Oak and bottom club Malvern had been a “reality check” for his team and he felt they had not looked back since then.

“We know the importance of coming away with points after the frustration of losing to Malvern and Moseley and the lads have stepped up a gear now,” Drew said.

“I think those two defeats hit us hard and some of the lads realised that they needed to step up to stay in this league.

“Newbold and Old Hales weren’t poor. We just stopped them from playing which made it a bit easier for ourselves.”

Droitwich’s next game is on Saturday, March 23, when they visit Stoke and Drew believes his side have still got “a lot of work to do” to secure survival.

“A 16-point gap isn’t a lot in the grand scheme of things,” he added.

“We could slip up and all the teams behind us could win.

“We have just got to play what is in front us and not worry about what’s behind us.

“We could do without having this break this weekend as it would be nice to get back playing against Stoke. But that’s the case for almost every team.”

Eighth-placed Worcester eased to a 36-0 home win over Sutton Coldfield to move 10 points above their opponents.

They led 15-0 in windy conditions after the first half with tries from Will Carroll and Olly Meadows. 

Chris Gill drove over from close range to extend the lead and added a similar score with the pack inspired by prop Nick Lee’s impact.

The last try was from Will Trumper’s 80-metre run.

Basement boys Malvern slumped closer to confirmed relegation with a 43-5 beating at second-from-bottom Longton.

They are back in action tomorrow with a rearranged home game against Hereford under the lights at Ledbury (8pm).

OTHER RESULTS

Midlands One West: Bromsgrove 52 Stoke 17; Moseley Oak 19 Hereford 19.

Division Two West (South): Evesham 25 Leamington 32; Kenilworth 26 Kidderminster Carolians 14.

Division Three West (South): Ledbury 45 Manor Park 15.

Division Four West (South): Bromyard v Harbury - home walkover; Redditch 8 Old Wheatleyans 51.

SATURDAY’S FIXTURES

RFU Midlands Intermediate Cup final: Kenilworth v Kidderminster Carolians.

RFU Midlands Junior Vase final: Tenbury v Mellish.

Midlands Four West (South): Burbage v Greyhound.