PLAYERS and officials at Malvern RFC were seething at Bromsgrove's weekend decision to withdraw from next Sunday's semi-final of the North Midlands Cup.

The news was telephoned to David Robins, Malvern's director of rugby on Sunday evening by a member of the Bromsgrove committee.

"It was obviously an embarrassing and difficult call for him to make," said Robins.

"Apparently the Bromsgrove players had a meeting and decided that to play a cup match the day after a league game against Wolverhampton was a bit too much for them. This must put a question mark over the ethos driving the Bromsgrove team, especially when you remember that Luctonians honoured their cup fixture with us in the last round after being in the same situation.

"Malvern last year played two rounds of this cup on days after league matches when we were in the same position as Bromsgrove currently find themselves - leading Midlands Two (West) with crucial games ahead. We went out fielding a second-string side at Droitwich and lost, hopefully with heads held high, as Luctonians did at Spring Lane but there was never question of dishonouring and demeaning the competition by a lame withdrawal.

"We feel for the officials and supporters of an honourable club with a long tradition. Not only must they feel great shame at the way their players have let down their club's defence of a trophy which gives the finalists a route to the senior national cup competition - they must be ruing the missed commercial opportunity of denying a large crowd.

"We would have taken around 150 to 200 thirsty supporters to Finstall Park. We now find ourselves in our first North Midlands final by default. We would rather have got there the hard way."