DRY Leas was anything but, the last time I visited Henley Rugby Club's picturesque ground.

The mud was deep and sticky when I covered a recent Oxfordshire Cup semi-final against Chinnor. It is strange to think that those same treacherous touchlines could soon be thronged with supporters from some of the biggest clubs in England.

Henley are second in Jewson National Division 1 - the English game's third division - level on points with leaders Manchester and eight clear of third-placed Otley.

With the top two having been guaranteed promotion by the Rugby Football Union, regardless of how the present structure is affected if the proposed Anglo-Welsh Leagues come into being, Henley could find themselves hosting famous old clubs such as Orrell, Coventry, Moseley and Waterloo next season.

But, if the Oxfordshire side had entertained hopes that they would sneak up unheralded and under-rated on such opponents, then Sunday's Tetley's Bitter Cup victory over Bedford put paid to them. Going on their league position and their place in the last 16 of the cup, Henley could justifiably claim to be one of the top 20 or so sides in the country.

But it was not that long ago that they were struggling to avoid relegation to the equivalent of the Southern Counties North Division, nowadays home to the likes of Wallingford, Chipping Norton and Bicester.

"It all started ten years ago with Clive Woodward," reckons director of rugby Tony Macarthur.

It was then that the current England boss joined as coach.

"Clive was a galvanising influence," Macarthur explained. "He got us playing with a certain style and created a certain structure, both of which we've been conscious of keeping.

"That style has been one of the keys to our success, because it has helped us to attract players."

Henley's climb up the leagues has been remarkable. In the new professional era only those clubs with rich, philanthropic backers or huge fan bases are supposed to succeed. With neither of the above, Henley have managed it. "Professionalism has probably helped us," said Macarthur. "More than any other club we have attracted players who don't want to or haven't been able to make it full time.

"That's partly because we are pretty close to London, but also because we still play with the attacking style that Clive introduced.

"We pay the players, but probably less than anyone in our league. They are all semi-pros and we would keep it that way even if we were to go up at the end of the season."

But, while Macarthur concedes that Henley, if promoted, will be unable to compete financially in Allied Dunbar Premiership 2, he believes they can do it on the pitch.

"I think we can establish ourselves successfully if we go up," he said. "Then we can look at the top flight.

"Of course, that will be a massive step and will take a huge investment on the ground and probably mean the players going full time. But it is possible."

Such talk would have seemed lunatic a decade ago, but Henley have achieved so much since then that nothing should be ruled out. TACKLING was the key to Henley's Tetley's Bitter Cup triumph at Allied Dunbar Premiership Bedford on Sunday, according to skipper Phil Osman, writes RICHARD TILLEY.

Fly half Osman scored the winning try in his side's 29-22 victory at Goldington Road, but he was quick to praise his teammates for their magnificent defensive display.

"The midfield, and the back row were fantastic," said Osman. "We thought that Bedford would be predictable, and they were, but we still had to keep making the tackles.

"There was one period in the second half when they were moving us from side to side of the pitch when we had most difficulty, but our drift defence coped and we were secure apart from that." Pack leader Jerry Sampson expressed surprise at how easily the Bedford forwards were contained.

"Their scrum was relatively lightweight compared to some of the teams we come up against in Jewson League 1," he said.

"We were really expecting to be creaking up front and struggling on our own put in, but it never happened.

"They didn't overpower us there and they seemed devoid of ideas everywhere else. They just kept banging the ball up the middle and we kept knocking them down and looking for turnovers."

Bedford coach Rudi Straeuli, who played for South Africa in their 1995 World Cup final win over New Zealand, was distinctly unimpressed by his side's showing.

"It is the worst I have seen Bedford play in my three years here," he said.

"We had to slow the game down and play with cool heads, but we were rushing and making wrong decisions - and we paid.

"Henley were well organised and they had strong runners in the backs who cut us up.

"There were one or two decisions which I wasn't happy with, but the ref did not cost us the game."

Story date: Thursday 14 January

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.