STEVE Lloyd may have ballooned to 23 stone since he was forced to retire from senior rugby almost five years ago but he still hopes to achieve one last ambition in the game.

The former Sixways lock missed out on an appearance at Twickenham during an illustrious 13-season senior career but he now has the chance to make up for the disappointment with Worcester Wanderers.

Lloyd is now coach of the Wanderers -- the amateur arm of Sixways -- and still makes occasional appearances for them.

He certainly made his presence felt in the fifth round of the Powergen Junior Vase when he came off the bench against Harborne.

The Wanderers appeared to be heading out of the competition but he turned the game around, scoring two tries and setting up a third in the sixth minute of injury time. Worcester levelled the scores 24-24 and progressed to the last 16 on the more tries rule.

Demands

Lloyd will be back on the replacements' bench for the home sixth round tie against Avonmouth OB from Bristol on Saturday and he will have no hesitation in bringing himself on again if the occasion demands it.

"If I was still playing senior rugby I suppose they'd say I was an impact player," said 36-year-old Lloyd. "I've got to the stage where I am a last-ditch player.

"I can't play regularly because of my back problem but I'm available if we are a bit short and I'll be on the bench against Avonmouth.

"I've become the team's talisman after what happened at Harborne and I'm enjoying being involved again because an appearance at Twickenham was one of the things I missed out on during my senior career.

"I played at the old Arms Park in Cardiff in a Wales Under-21 trial and played across the road from Twickenham during my spell at Harlequins but never at the main ground.

"I think for anyone involved at this level of rugby the chance to play at Twickenham is a marvellous opportunity and, if we could get there, it would be a dream come true."

Lloyd has not had Avonmouth watched but has picked up intelligence reports from his contacts on the South West circuit.

"From what I gather they are a typical Bristol side with a big pack and we are expecting this to be a hard forward battle rather than a running game so we might need a bit of ballast from me in the pack," Lloyd said.

Worcester's squad includes Will Orgee, the younger brother of Pertemps Bees captain Ed, who reached the semi-finals of last season's Powergen Cup.

Ludlow, who were beaten quarter-finalists 12 months ago, have reached the last 16 for a second consecutive season and will have home advantage against Anselmians from the Wirral at The Linney.

n Malvern, meanwhile, will enjoy a local derby in the North Midlands Cup on Saturday.

The Spring Lane side play host to University College Worcester.

Malvern's director of rugby David Robins said: "It is a stern task as Worcester have just won their division to put themselves back in the top flight of student rugby.

"It will be almost like a home tie for them as they use our facilities for their inter-varsity games."

Extra spice is added to the tie as Andy Cushing, UCW's coaching chief, was Malvern's coach two seasons ago.

Several of his alumni, including Jamie Anderson, Nick Smith and Mark Eastwood will be turning out against his current crop of talented youngsters.

A large crowd is expected for the match which, being a cup tie, will kick-off at the earlier time of 2pm.