Sussex's big two are on course for another final showdown after the county's newest competition was scuppered before it had even kicked off.

The elite-level Sussex Challenge Cup, introduced this season, was designed to keep Worthing Raiders and Haywards Heath out of the Sussex Trophy and give other clubs a chance to win it.

After all, no side outside the big two has lifted the Trophy since Lewes in 1995.

So keep them out of it altogether, then allow the two Trophy finalists into the Challenge Cup semis, one playing Worthing and one facing Heath.

It all sounded so simple.

Indeed this season's Trophy has been a well-contested affair with several teams thinking they could win it.

Then that old problem re-surfaced. No one really wants to play the increasingly powerful Raiders and Heath.

Bognor withdrew from their trip to Roundstone Lane and, after a committee meeting this week, Eastbourne scratched from a trip to Whitemans Green.

Tomorrow was supposed to have been Challenge Cup semi-final day.

Instead, Worthing and Heath go directly to the final at Lewes on Sunday, April 6.

Eastbourne have cited injury problems and the fact they have greater priorities in both their battle against relegation from London Three South East and the Trophy final for reasons not to play.

Bognor believe there was never any obligation on them to play the fixture at Roundstone Lane but rather that the challenge was there for them to take up or decline as they saw fit.

Mike Richardson, the Sussex RFU competitions committee member who first explained the new set-up to The Argus, admitted: "I imagine there will be a certain amount of sadness about this.

"It's sad two teams should not be trying to compete.

"You will always have a situation in a cup competition where a higher side can meet a lower side.

"I was at Esher when Worthing went there in the EDF Trophy. Worthing are three divisions below Esher and they were beaten but they competed and a good day was had by all."

Asked if the county might now limit the Challenge Cup to the two top teams in Sussex, Richardson said: "That's a decision for the competitions committee but I hope not."

Worthing and Heath have both said they would have put out teams below full strength had the ties taken place, though clearly they would still have done enough to give themselves a great chance of progressing.

Director of rugby Leighton Thomas refers to amateur and semi-professional clubs when talking about his own Bognor club and Worthing.

A slight exaggeration, but then you wonder about the gulf as his counterpart at the Raiders, Ian Davies, points out: "I would expect our second team to beat Bognor firsts anyway."

Maybe we should not be surprised.

After all, the whole raison d'etre behind the new set-up is that teams used to pull out of Trophy ties against Worthing and Heath.

Now they are pulling out of Challenge Cup ties instead.

Richardson said: "No matter how you structure it, these two sides are playing at a higher level than the rest of the county.

"The two Trophy finalists are supposed to be the next best two in the county."

Press officer Peter Lloyd is on the Eastbourne club committee who approved the decision not to go to Haywards Heath.

He said: "We don't disapprove of the idea of the Challenge Cup and we are not criticising the fact it has to be played this week.

"But a combination of factors mean it is not our top priority."

As for the players, Heath's Dave Wattam put his name down to help out the second team tomorrow with a little bit of regret.

He said: "We enjoy playing in the cup. You get to see a lot of people you don't normally play against.

"We are all geared up to play so it's disappointing."

Davies highlighted lost revenue for his club and that will also be a case for Heath.

The Sussex RFU should be applauded for their efforts in recent years to spice up the county knockouts, which have been up and running since the 1970-71 season.

There is still the prospect of two decent finals. At Brighton on March 16, Eastbourne or Bognor will add their name on the Trophy to previous winners Lewes (12 times), Worthing (ten), Haywards Heath (seven), Horsham (twice) Crowborough (twice), Crawley (twice) and Brighton (once).

As for a truly competitive senior county knockout between four or five evenly matched teams?

Well maybe those days have gone forever.

Worthing and Heath look well set to maintain or improve their current league status which means the only way we will get a wide open field is for other teams to join them.

But then they might be so worried about maintaining league status, the county knockout becomes the second priority.

Could that happen when underdogs Heath go into the Challenge Cup decider?

"Hell no," said Wattam. "Let's see how good we are and how we compare to Worthing, who are the best side in Sussex at the moment."

How can the Sussex Cup be revamped?