Bromley RFC head coach Tom Beaumont admits revealing who was in the squad for Sunday’s Senior Vase final at Twickenham was one of the toughest decisions he has ever had to make.

His London Three SE side face West Leeds at the national stadium on Sunday, their first appearance at the home of rugby since 2002.

With a heroic cup run culminating in a 22-16 victory over Withycombe in the semi-finals, every player was desperate to play on the big stage this weekend, although it was left to Beaumont to decide who misses out.

He told News Shopper: “The squad’s been picked and it was the worst couple of phone calls I’ve had to make in my life.

“No one really knows they are in the team for sure but everyone feels like they’ve got a shot.

“I had to upset a few people, as any rugby player’s dream is to play at Twickenham.

“But they took it really well and will still be there for support.”

The last few months of Bromley’s season have been dominated by the cup run, with their league form tailing off as they finished in sixth place.

Beaumont admitted with the amount of effort they put into the cup, it was hard to stay motivated with only a mid-table position to play for.

The coach explained: “We definitely have a big game mentality.

“If you went through the squad, it was very hard for them to forget there was a chance to play at Twickenham in two, three games time.

“There was also the hangover of playing in a massive cup game, putting everything into it and being successful.

“The last three or four cup games have all been really tight and competitive and we put everything into those games.”

Beaumont added: “We were coming back to league games where the chase for promotion for us was gone and playing against teams that were either fighting for relegation or desperate for promotion.

“We were playing teams in the league and it was like their cup game. We were trying to convince ourselves that these games were just as important, when in reality there’s a bigger carrot to chase.”

Beaumont has experience of the big stage having guided Ravens Wood School’s rugby team to Twickenham in the Daily Mail Vase final in his day job as PE teacher.

A couple of the current younger players at Bromley were in that side, and with the Wardingley twins Neil and Jack – the only surviving players from Bromley’s last visit to Twickenham – they have a good mix of experience in the dressing room.

Beaumont added he hasn’t been able to do much research on West Leeds because they’re so far away, although the coach is expecting a cautious start from both teams.

He said: “I think the first ten minutes will be full of heart and fire, but also a bit cagey because of the nerves.

“We’ll also be both working out what the opposition are really about and what are their strengths.

 “We’re expecting a big crowd and we want to play on the whole north-south divide.”

The RFU Senior Vase final at Twickenham kicks off at 1pm.

Follow @NewsShopperSprt on Twitter for live updates from the game.