IT is little more than two years ago when Winnington Park lost heavily at home to Northwich.

They had already been condemned to the drop before kick-off, but a 61-5 victory for their neighbours confirmed Blacks’ promotion as champions.

A pretty painful double whammy, then.

Not only that, the men from Burrows Hill were about to enter uncharted territory by dropping to a level they had never played at previously.

They completed a journey back to more familiar ground with a resounding 47-10 win at Liverpool Collegiate last weekend, when more than half of their starting line-up was unchanged from that mismatch with Northwich.

Dave Cross, Park’s captain, was one of them.

“It makes this moment sweeter,” he reflected.

“I think all the guys that played in that game feel the same.”

Park weren’t demoted that day because they lost a derby though.

Indeed, to view their revival since through the prism of what has happened next door is to miss the point.

They have had to be more introspective, and patient too, while laying a new foundation.

And the appointment of Matt Farr as head coach has proven to be an inspired one in helping them to do that.

However he would not have been able to deliver what he has without the support of Dave Allcock, who agreed to become director of rugby at the same time.

Northwich Guardian:

Dave Allcock, centre, accepted an offer to take over as director of rugby at Winnington Park at the same time Matt Farr became head coach. Picture: John Pickering

Indeed, chairman Paul Dean described phone calls to those two – in which he gambled by telling both men that the other had already agreed to return to a club where they had been revered as players – as one of the best bits of business he’s ever done.

During conversations with all three earlier this week, they commended the contribution of coaches Paul Gibson and Jimmy Davies.

In short, it’s been a collective effort to get this far.

And their greatest achievement, at least in the short-term, isn’t revealed by simply studying the numbers posted by a team that has won all but one of its competitive matches this season.

Although they are impressive, by the way; 28 wins from 29 outings.

Instead, it’s altering the mind-set of a squad that had grown too used to accepting defeat.

That they have done so quickly – and jibes about the quality of opposition feel hollow when you consider that the same side could only finish sixth last season – is impressive.

If the first-team are a rugby club’s flag-bearers, then Winnington can puff out their chests and hold heads high again when raising their colours.

After all, it’s been a while since they could do that.

They acknowledge that next season will be different, and they’ll likely need to be fitter, stronger and more clinical.

But that’s a challenge they face now with renewed optimism and hope.

It’s not clear yet what the ceiling is for such a young side – the likes of Cameron Flanagan, Alex Glendinning and James Johnson can improve plenty beyond their already high-standards – and that’s exciting.