HAVING reached the final of the County Championship Plate without conceding any points, Hampshire will be looking to claim the trophy with victory over Leicestershire.

The county's exceptional record in this year's competition ensures that they will have home advantage for the final, which will take place at Aldershot Military Stadium today (3pm).

Reaching the final means that Hampshire will be promoted to the second tier of county competitions, the County Championship Shield, next season.

This was one of manager John Byett's main aims but, having made the final, he is desperate for his side to pick up the silverware.

"When I started out, I wanted to get Hampshire off the bottom rung," Byett explained. "We have achieved that and now we are looking to go on and finish the job off.

"I am looking forward to the final and it would be great to win. It's nice for the county to be in the final and is good for rugby in Hampshire. We have a good set-up, especially in the age groups, and it is good to see them coming through."

Hampshire have swept all before them in reaching the final, beating Dorset and Wilts 55-0 in their opening match before hammering Buckinghamshire 54-0 and Sussex 53-0 to top their pool.

This earned them a home draw in the semi-final and a 37-0 win over Kent at Down Grange on Saturday secured a place in the national final.

"Saturday's game was another step up as Kent put out a strong side with 10 players from the national leagues," Byett said.

His side have been brilliant going forward, but it is their defence that is providing the major talking point. While Byett admits he would love to see them keep another clean sheet in the final, he says that winning is more important.

"The boys have really gelled defensively and it has become a big thing to stop the other side getting any points," he said. "It would be great to go through the whole competition without conceding anything, but I just want to win."

Leicestershire have also won all four of their matches, beating Staffordshire comfortably before edging past Notts, Lincs and Derby and then Essex by a single point. Last weekend saw them beat East Midlands 31-8 in the semi-final.

Byett admits that Hampshire will be strongly fancied to claim the plate but is refusing to take anything for granted.

"With home advantage and having not conceded anything, I think we will be seen as favourites," he said. "However, we have never played Leicestershire and do not know what players they have. We will not really know who the favourites are until the whistle blows."

A total of 10 players with Basingstoke connections have appeared for the county throughout the campaign. Current 'Stoke first teamers Neil Young, Simon Appleby, Simon Buckland, Luke Richardson and Karl Buttle are likely to play on Saturday, while David Byett and Simon Humberstone, who have represented Basingstoke in the past, should also feature.