EMOTIONS will be running into overdrive this Saturday as Droitwich Spa and Bromsgrove RFC take to the field for crunch matches in a huge day for local rugby.

Droitwich Spa entertain Old Yardleians in a winner-takes-all promotion showdown while eight miles up the road Bromsgrove host local rivals Malvern as they attempt to save their Midlands One status.

Spa, who have never been above Midlands Four West (South) in their 31-year history, are currently two points behind Saturday's opponents in third and need to win by more than eight points to secure a top two finish.

At Finstall Park, victory for Bromsgrove and defeat for Hinckley, immediately above them, would take them out of the bottom three for the first time in many months, and possibly as high as fifth bottom. However, they could still face demotion depending on the geographical location of teams coming down from higher leagues.

Spa's director of rugby, Julian Bailey, and coach Neil Evans, in his last season with the club, will be without captain Simon Mountjoy, who is getting married. But they are in no doubt what the occasion means to the club. A lunch for ex-players will also be held ahead of the game.

Bailey said: "If we do get promotion on Saturday I will be delighted and over the moon.

"I personally would be delighted for the lads because it's the guys who put in the work, week in week out, and do the business on a Saturday.

"We know they are going to be a real tough test and they are going to want to win it as much as we are. We have got to concentrate on our game and we know what let us down against Marconi."

Like Evans, Saturday is also David Stout's last match as coach of Bromsgrove and he would like to go out on a high. A win for Bromsgrove would also complete a remarkable turnaround in fortune given that they failed to win for four months before winning five of their last six league matches.

Stout said: "If we win and Hinckley lose, there's a strong chance we will stay up and that's the main motivation.

"If anything, it bears out what I have always said that we are more than capable of staying in this league and competing with the best.

"We have won five of our last six and even league champions would be happy with that form. You would never have believed that in January.

"There's a lot of history between Bromsgrove and Malvern and the last time we played them it was our worst performance of the season so that's all the more reason to perform but everybody recognises the importance of the game."

But Stout will be without Ian Young with a broken collarbone.