Not only are the great and the good of the Aviva Premiership Rugby strutting their stuff at Twickenham this Saturday – so are the new generation of rugby players, including Worcester RFC, courtesy of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup.
The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup is a nationwide tournament for under 11 and under 12 teams and is run in conjunction with all 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and Newcastle Falcons. After the continued success of the first four seasons, in which over 30,000 aspiring young players took part in festivals all over the country, more young stars were unearthed at this year's festivals.
Each Premiership Rugby club hosted a rugby festival during the season with age group winners from each of the 13 regional festivals being crowned Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup champions. Not only did the stars of tomorrow get to rub shoulders with professional players from the Premiership Rugby clubs but the teams will be celebrating their hard-earned victories at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 25th May where they will get to see the top two teams in the Aviva Premiership battle it out in the final. The excited young rugby players will parade around the pitch at half time in front of a crowd of 82,000 rugby fans.
The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup Parade of Champions will include 600 children from rugby clubs throughout England. The U11 winning teams are Bath RFC, Beaconsfield RFC, Beccehamians RFC, Cinderford RFC, Maidenhead RFC, Morpeth, Oakham RFC, Olney RFC, Oxford RFC, Plymstock Albion Oaks, Stourbridge, Sutton and Epsom, Upminster RFC and Warrington. The U12 winners are Banbury, Beaconsfield RFC, Chippenham, Cleve RFC, King's Old Boys RFC, London Irish Amateurs RFC, Northern, Preston Grasshoppers, Redruth RFC, Southend, Worcester RFC and Wymondham RFC.
Land Rover ambassador, Martin Johnson commented on what a special day this will be for the future stars of the game, “It all starts at grassroots level and the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup provides a great experience and platform for young aspiring players to do just that. We all started at festivals like this and it's so important that these tournaments continue.
“The fact that the winning teams from the festivals are able to be a part of the Land Rover Parade of Champions at the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final is something special and I'm sure something that they will remember for the rest of their rugby careers. Perhaps we'll even see a few of them playing there soon!”
Commenting on the support of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, Jeremy Hicks, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover UK, said: “We are thrilled that the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup is proving to be such a success and continues to build in momentum and profile.
“It is a significant initiative which provides a unique opportunity for young players to channel their enthusiasm for the sport and to play in a national tournament. Land Rover's commitment to rugby covers every level of the game, from Rugby World Cup 2015 through to the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, and we are committed to supporting the development of the young players of the future.”
The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup is part of Land Rover's ongoing support for grassroots rugby. The tournament, which began in 2008, is officiated by Premiership Rugby and run in conjunction with all 12 Premiership Clubs. Through this, over 40,000 aspiring young players take part in under 11 and under 12 festivals all over the country. Land Rover remain proud partners of the thriving programme.
This initiative further illustrates Land Rover's commitment to rugby at all levels of the game, from the elite of the British & Irish Lions and Rugby World Cup 2015 to the next generation of players across the country.
For more information on the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup please visit: www.landrover.co.uk/rugby