Sadly sides from the south will not be involved in the Tetley's Bitter Cup tomorrow but six clubs will be part of national competition action in the Intermediate Cup.

The draw for the Intermediate Cup third round has thrown up an intriguing tie at Winchester. Richmond are the visitors and it is only two or three years ago that Winchester almost became a feeder for the then professional Richmond outfit.

Now forced into amateur status by the shenanigans at the top of the game, Richmond feel they should have been readmitted to the league structure at a higher level than at county league and believe this competition is their way of proving a point.

Winchester coach, Kevin Gregory observed: "It's an ironic fixture but we should do well.

"As chance would have it, we've had Richmond watched and believe we know the way they'll play.

"I think we should beat them but it will be an interesting little game."

Portsmouth have a restructured back-row for their visit to Old Wimbledonians, since James Pegler is working and Mark Davies is away. This allows the skipper, Brit Pearce to make his first appearance of the season at No8, with Matt Howard filling in at flanker.

Paul Gandy is on a coaching course so Chris Goldsmith plays at lock, while Mike Caspall is recalled at scrum-half for the injured Mike Vine.

Those brought in are all experienced so Portsmouth should have few problems against a side they thrashed earlier in the season. However director of rugby Nigel Morgan cautioned against taking anything for granted.

Tottonians recently narrowly lost a league encounter with Cranleigh at Totton, but they are confident of reversing that when they travel to Surrey to face the same opposition.

Andover must be confident of success at home to lower status opposition in Cobham, even though the Surrey side do head London Four South West, while Gosport & Fareham should have little to fear in their home encounter with the students from Imperial Medicals.

Wimborne ought to be capable of keeping the Dorset flag flying when they host Bicester.

Just three Hampshire sides have survived to the third round of the Tetley's Bitter Vase and two of those meet in the Avon Valley when Fordingbridge entertain Overton.

The two are in Hampshire 2 but have yet to meet in league action. However, form and home advantage suggest a Fordingbridge victory unless there is any reaction to last week's surprise home defeat at the hands of Fareham Heathens.

Southampton Institute are the other Hampshire survivors and they host Battersea Ironsides. If Battersea are anything like the side that ousted Andover from this competition some years ago, the students could be in for a difficult afternoon.

A very small number of rearranged league fixtures are being played tomorrow, with other sides opting for rest or experimenting with players in friendlies.