WESTCLIFF Rugby Club’s under 18 side have been forced to pull out of their first ever national cup final due to a fixture clash.

Westcliff had been due to take on Bishop’s Stortford in the final of the LV Cup at Hitchin this Sunday.

But Westcliff’s under 17 and under 19 sides are in action in Essex Cup finals on the same day.

And their forwards coach Shaun Roberts revealed neither of the competitions’ finals could be changed, resulting in a difficult decision having to be made.

“It’s a real shame we’ve been forced to pull out of the LV Cup final but there was no way it could be changed and it was a very tough choice to make in the end,” said Roberts.

“We spoke about it all with the boys to see what they wanted to do and they’re a very close group so they decided to play in the Essex Cup finals instead.

“If we had just played the national final then six of the players would have missed out on being able to play in any kind of cup final and the group didn’t want that to happen.

“It’s disappointing that one of the finals couldn’t have been changed, especially as it would’ve been our first ever national cup final.

“But that was out of our hands and we’re looking forward to the two finals we have coming up this weekend now.”

Westcliff’s under 17 side, who are captained by Alex Harvey, take on Brentwood in the final before the under 19s face Romford.

The under 19s will be captained by Billy Morrant who has played a number of matches for the first team this season.

Both games are being played at Rochford Hundred’s Magnolia Road ground.