WORCESTERSHIRE and Herefordshire, the defending RLF North Midlands Rugby Union champions, have been forced to reshuffle their side for this season's final against Shropshire at Stourbridge tonight (7.30pm).

The Hereford club are away on an end-of-season tour which has deprived the county of three players, including their captain Andy Johnson.

University College Worcester are also involved in a University Sevens tournament which means that Malvern scrum-half Sam Hardcastle, the man-of-the-match in the group match against Shropshire two weeks ago, is also unavailable.

Bromyard full-back Richard Mauger misses out because he is training to be an army officer at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst so Jeremy Wheadon, Steve Saint (both Luctonians) and Matt Williams (Ledbury) have been brought into a reshaped squad.

The combined counties, who were beaten in their opening group match by Greater Birmingham three weeks ago, qualified for the final when Shropshire beat Greater Birmingham 48-9 in the final group mach at Edwardians last week.

Shropshire, who last won the title in 1985, beat Worcestershire and Herefordshire in a group match last season but the counties took revenge with victory in the final at Stourbridge.

Worcestershire and Herefordshire: Wheadon (Luctonians); Henshaw (Worcester), Pullen (Pershore), Richards (Malvern), Young (Malvern); Harwood (Luctonians), Saint (Luctonians); Jaques (Luctonians), Miles (Hereford), Maritza (Evesham), Williams (Ledbury), Atkinson (Hereford), Bassett (Pershore), Godfrey (Droitwich), Hart (Worcester). Replacements: Drew (Kidderminster), Heap (Cleobury), Wozencroft (Tenbury), Smith (Malvern), White (Hereford), Gaubert (Malvern).