The power of coincidence reigned yesterday as Pertemps Bees and Coventry were given sixth-round Powergen Trophy ties against the teams they play in National One a week prior to meeting again in knock-out competition.

Bees have been drawn at home to Otley and face the Yorkshiremen at Cross Green on November 19 before playing them again the following weekend with a place in the last eight of the Trophy at stake.

Coventry host London Welsh seven days ahead of their match at Old Deer Park when they will go in search of their first quarter-final appearance since 1987. Curiously, both clubs are considering moving the fixtures to a Sunday so as to avoid a clash with England's match against Samoa on November 26.

Yet, rather unsurprisingly, the reactions emanating from both establishments are exactly the same. While the cup is a nicety, the league remains a necessity.

Since the Premiership teams decided to play with their new Welsh friends in the Powergen Cup, the importance of the National League knockout competition has been vastly diminished.

For that that reason Phil Maynard, director of rugby at Sharmans Cross Road, and Mike Umaga, Coventry's head coach, said they would prefer to win the National One encounters at the expense of progress in the Trophy.

Neither side is happy with their results in the league so far - Bees are one of three teams at the bottom locked on 11 points while Coventry are only slightly better placed with just 14 - and so the focus of both teams remains firmly locked on the bread and butter tournament.

But for Maynard that doesn't mean fielding a weakened side in part two of the double header. "League points are very, very valuable to us," he said. "But due to the size of our squad we do not have the wherewithal to play a second team in the Trophy - we don't have a second team."

Maynard conceded that the tie was not 'a dream draw' but expressed his satisfaction that Bees had been drawn at home to a side with whom they have shared spoils in recent years.

He said: "Every year we have been in this division it has ended up with one win each. We have always got on well with Otley, I've always had a great respect for Peter Clegg. They are a strong Yorkshire club who have never spent more than they have got."

Maynard and Umaga were split on the principle of playing the same opposition two weeks running. "Back to back is not ideal," Maynard said. "I have done it a lot in my many years in rugby but some of our boys have never done it so we'll have to watch out for that."

Coventry's experience could not be more current, having played and beaten Newbury in league and knock-out competition in their last two games.

Umaga said: "After the weekend that we have just had another double-header might be a good thing. We will know what to expect now.

"Even though Newbury brought something else to their game plan the second time we played we were able to combat it and the boys will take a lot of confidence from that."

London Welsh might be another of the bottom sides but Umaga is not taking anything for granted, saying: "The results in this division have shown that you cannot take your eye off the ball at any stage and this will be no exception. London Welsh have got a long history and proud tradition so we cannot take them lightly, that's for sure.

"The league is still our main priority, we still need to keep climbing up the ladder to keep ourselves safe. We've got only two wins and that's nothing to brag about."