Maidstone coach Paul Hathaway has the unenviable task of breaking bad news to players who won’t feature in the Intermediate Cup final side.

It’s every young rugby player’s dream to run out at Twickenham and Hathaway knows there will be several disappointed faces when Maidstone take on Bridgnorth on
Sunday.

He said: “We’ve still got a few decisions to make which is always going to be hard for me and hard on the players, but when we go up there it will be an experience for all those players.

“It’s one of the difficult sides of the job. It’s always nice to tell someone they’re in the side but the most difficult part is preparing them for what ultimately is going to be big disappointment for some of them.

“You just have to put it in straightforward terms. Selection will be difficult – you just have to be honest.”

Maidstone and Bridgnorth go into the final as unbeaten league champions in their respective divisions. It’s all set up for a huge occasion and Maidstone are confident of victory.

Hathaway said: “It’s an exciting opportunity for us as a team, both as players and as a coaching team, to go up there, enjoy the day and revel in the success we’ve had over the season. It crowns the season off.

“What would be nice is to make sure that we finish the job we started and win the game but there’s two sides out there who want that outcome."