"Two cup victories in a fortnight, in the country's premier knockout competition! Only five games now to the final. We are on our way to Twickenham without doubt, though, on this occasion, we will have to stay on the south west line one stop further, to adjacent Richmond.

While this competition could not quite be described as in the bag, we shall continue to aspire to make a second visit to London's SW1 postcode on 16 April for a Roy of the Rovers tussle with Wasps.

Cup competitions, in all sports, bring the possibility of unimagined glamour and excitement to small clubs, in provincial towns, throughout the country.

Dreams are kept alive by well publicised giant-killing acts, where major teams, who should know better, are humbled and humiliated by a combination of local fervour and underestimation.

Everyone loves to see it. The walls of the clubhouse are still adorned with fading pictures of the dramatic events of January 1997, when London Scottish, then in the Premiership, found their way to a packed Mint Bridge and were fortunate to scrape into the next round.

The achievements of Aspatria in cup competitions of previous generations, put that club on the map for years to come afterwards.

The experience of leading players in visiting cold, wet rural recesses and encountering baying pits of local passion, is one they do not relish, and confirms the stereotype that most people in the Thames Valley have of the north.

Mint Bridge was not a pit of passion on Saturday, despite the first ever visit of Reading. In fact the crowd was as small as I can remember for a long time, and this was unfortunate, since those present witnessed a thrilling spectacle, with yet another nailbiting finish.

The range of alternative attractions available in the supermarkets of Kendal on a Saturday afternoon must be at an all time high.

In a now familiar pattern, the home side played some outstanding football to achieve a comfortable lead at 29-10, and then allowed spirited opponents to rally to bring an uncomfortable tension to the dying minutes.

After all the dreams and drama of the cup, we must wake up to the harsh reality that fortunes here are not what defines our status and worth.

Despite having played well, and won, for three consecutive weeks - unprecedented in recent times - we still have only five league points, and a difficult succession of forthcoming opponents.

We also face an away trip, which is something that should not give rise to complacency, given the ugly memory of our most recent charabanc excursion, to Macclesfield.

Glamorous dreams - not a dimension for which the club is well known - must be suspended in the search for a hard-nosed league performance. Reality returns for a trip to exotic Tynedale.