DAVE Cross has said it felt like Winnington Park had passed an exam when they defeat New Brighton in last week’s Cheshire RFU Bowl final.

He lifted the silverware aloft following a 38-21 success that clinched for his side a league and cup double after they had beaten higher-ranked opponents.

“We needed a game like that,” Park’s first-team captain told the Guardian.

“It’s something we’d been looking for – to be pushed – after a sequence of easy wins in the weeks beforehand.

“I think it’s good to meet a challenge like that in the way we did.

“We turned the screw at the right moment, and it’s reassuring for us to know we’ve got a backs division that can do damage to other teams when we have the ball.

“It’s something we’ll still need to work on, because next year we’ll not be running away with games in the same way.”

For now, Park’s focus is on ending the current campaign with an unblemished record.

They travel to Oswestry to play their remaining South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two fixture on Saturday, when they seek to record a 26th victory.

The team have already accumulated a record points total – on the pitch and in the standings – and will lay another marker for the club if they can prevail by at least 13 points.

A day of celebration concludes with the captains’ dinner at Burrows Hill in the evening.

Cross added: “They called and asked us if we wanted to play because neither side’s position in the table can change.

“But we were having none of it; we want to reach the finish and say that we’ve beaten everybody twice!”