Southend travel to National Division Three South rivals Barking for an Essex Senior Cup quarter final on Sunday, kick-off 2pm.

The Seasiders are currently ninth in the league standings, in lower midtable, while Barking are leading the way in the promotion race.

And Southend's director of rugby, Kevin Harman, confirmed he would be using the match to run the rule over a number of players.

"Of course we would like to win at Barking, but the league is our priority and we still need a few more wins to keep ourselves away from the bottom of the table," he said.

"So this will be a first team squad game, which will allow me to rest some players and have a look at others who may feature in the weeks ahead.

"I'm sure Barking will treat the match in the same way.

"They are trying to win the league and will not want to pick up any injuries in this game which could jeopardise the rest of their campaign."

The winners of Sunday's cup clash will then play Woodford to set up a meeting with fellow London Two North club Thurrock, who are already through to the final.