THE Gloucestershire Warriors travel to Birmingham this Saturday to face the Bulldogs knowing that they are virtually in must-win territory if they are to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs.

They face a Bulldogs side that escaped from Sandyleaze with a 31-24 win in a game the Warriors should have had in the bag after leading 18-6 at the break. Both sides were defeated in their last games. While the Warriors were battling hard against the Coventry Bears, the Bulldogs were surprisingly being well beaten 34-12 by Leicester Storm – a result that does not help the Warriors as it put the Storm four points ahead with just five games remaining.

"We showed some good touches against Coventry", said Warriors head coach Tom James. "If the team had had more time together, then the scoreline if not the result would have been very different."

Aston Old Edwardians, the Bulldogs’ home ground, holds bad memories for the Warriors as they crashed to their heaviest defeat of last season there, losing 70-6. James is hoping things will be different this time: "Defensively, we’ve not been at our best this season but if we get that right then we have the ability to score points and win games. It’s long overdue this season hopefully, this weekend we’ll see it."