WINNINGTON Park need not look too far back for inspiration when they prepare for the Cheshire RFU Bowl final this weekend, according to their captain.

Dave Cross held aloft the trophy last year following his side’s 38-21 victory against New Brighton, reward for an attacking performance the men from Burrows Hill will attempt to repeat.

READ > Winnington prevail in Cheshire RFU Bowl final

“We can take plenty from how we played,” he told the Guardian.

“We put them on the back foot and played our brand of rugby in the right areas of the pitch.

“When we are fast flowing, and get our heavy ball-carriers in possession, then teams struggle to cope.

“That was the case [against New Brighton]; we scored a couple of tries in quick succession and they didn’t have a Plan B to counter it.”

Park’s opponents this time around are Crewe & Nantwich, who have finished sixth in Midlands Two West (North) after concluding their campaign with three successive victories.

Coincidentally, the men from Burrows Hill occupy will occupy the same position in Lancs/Cheshire Division One – an equivalent level in the RFU’s Northern Division – no matter what the outcome is of their remaining match at Fleetwood later this month.

Cross and company have had an upturn in fortunes at precisely the right moment, following four consecutive defeats with back-to-back wins against promotion play-off hopefuls Glossop and then Liverpool Collegiate.

READ > Park 55-19 Liverpool Collegiate: match report

He said: “We had an indifferent few weeks and, like winning, losing can become a habit if you’re not careful.

“It’s been frustrating because we’ve tended to play great for 20 minutes or so in games and then let ourselves down by letting those standards slip.

“The win against Glossop was huge, and we were happy after that.

“There was a big crowd last weekend for our past players’ reunion when Liverpool came and so it was a game we wanted to get right which we did in the end.”

It means they can prepare for a meeting with opponents they don’t take on often, given Crewe play in a different part of the RFU’s league structure, with their confidence restored.

Park, already the most decorated team in the Cheshire RFU Bowl’s short history, are motivated to add to a tally of three final wins.

Cross has played in all of them.

He said: “It would be great to win it again and I expect it to be a great occasion because we’ll have so much support like we did 12 months ago.”