STOKE captain Chris Rowley says the attitude of his players is one of the biggest threats to their hopes of a Twickenham return.

The Hartwell Lane club are three steps away from gracing rugby headquarters again as they prepare to entertain Old Laurentians in the Intermediate Cup Midlands semi-finals on Saturday.

Stoke, who beat Aylesford Bulls 16-10 in last year's final, have blazed a trail in their defence so far, sweeping aside the challenges of Droitwich, Vipers and Leamington.

And although they top Midlands Two West (North) with an unblemished record, their usual free-scoring style has been tempered in the last two matches.

They managed 20 and 26 points respectively in wins against Spartans and Leek – a far cry from the half-century scores they were running in earlier in the season.

Rowley says focusing the mind will help keep their cup defence on track.

"We've gone off the boil in the last couple of games and we've identified a few areas we can improve," said Rowley.

"It is about re-focusing. When you score 50-plus points every week, it is easy to slip into the mindset that we only have to turn up to win.

"The players must go into every match hungry to win, not just expecting it."

Old Laurentians, based in Rugby, are third in Midlands Two West (South).

They suffered relegation from Midlands One last year, but have made a good fist of trying to reclaim their status at the first attempt.

"We've seen their results and perhaps our best gauge is they beat Leamington recently, who we played in the cup," said Rowley.

"That was a hard game for us, and we're expecting the same on Saturday.

"Hopefully they will come and play rugby, and not just try to stop us playing."

Stoke will be without flanker Rich Meredith and centre Paul Ramage, who are both unavailable, if the fixture survives the cold weather.

Chris Hill has been promoted to the squad after some impressive second-string displays and is set to take his place in the pack.