CLEOBURY'S Mortimer's meteoric rise to rugby prominence continues when they face Sunderland in the last eight of the Powergen Junior Vase on Saturday (2pm).

The club originally emerged from a game between two rival pubs in the town in the wake of the rugby fever that followed the staging of the 1991 World Cup in England.

Since then players who had traditionally travelled outside the town to play their rugby now had a local club to turn out for.

Cleobury have always played at the Lacon Childe School, Love Lane, where Doug Powell, the club's chairman, was once sports master.

As part of a major development at the school, including a floodlit all-weather surface and tennis courts, the rugby club will have a new first team pitch by March.

Cleobury use a local social club for their post-match entertaining and also the local pubs from which the club was formed.

Under the guidance of player-coach Tony Heap, Cleobury are currently enjoying one of their most successful seasons in the cup and in Midlands Four West South. Heap, who will be in the front row against Sunderland, saw his side warm up for the big cup tie with a 23-12 win at Harbury to continue their recent good league form last weekend.

Willie Bache hit a hat-trick, Paul Hulland also touched down and Allan Shields kicked a penalty as they overturned a 12-8 interval deficit to beat their Leamington Spa hosts.

The final try chalked up last Saturday was Cleobury's 500th point of this season so far, their best tally since the 1998/99 campaign.