RUGBY UNION: BROADSTREET Under-12s star Jake Thompson may have missed out on appearing at the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final at Twickenham but still he insists he experienced a memorable weekend at a festival organised by Wasps.
Thompson and Broadstreet Under-12s had been hoping to head to Twickenham on May 27 to meet an England 2003 Rugby World Cup winner and join in a Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup Parade at half-time – but it wasn’t to be despite a strong performance at the rugby festival.
Thompson and his team received the opportunity after taking part in the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup – a nationwide series for U11 and U12 teams – on Sunday at King Henry VIII School in Coventry.
Broadstreet showed maturity beyond their years as they played with a combination of brave tackling, crisp passes and slick off-loads in a tournament organised by Wasps that saw more than 30 teams take part including Barkers Butts, Earlsdon, Atherstone and Old Coventrians.
“It would have been really great to be at Twickenham to see the stadium and the final,” said Thompson – who attends Stoke Park School.
“We have really enjoyed the day today and we have worked really hard as a team to play here.
“Rugby is such a good team game and everyone has to work together, its core values are really important to us.”
The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup has seen nearly 68,000 children take part to date, from all over the country, providing opportunities for U11 and U12 players to play, develop and excel in the game.
The festivals around the country celebrate rugby’s traditional core values of team work, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship, rewarding players conduct, side-line conduct and game play.
And Wasps took a break from the action on Sunday to support the event at King Henry VIII School, with centre Nick De Luca praising the standard of rugby on display and the importance of junior rugby in the club’s future success.
He added: “I have seen some great rugby with lots of teams being really physical and loving that side of the game as well as being willing to offload which is great to see – the skill level has been really high.”
<b>Land Rover is a proud supporter of grassroots rugby and has been a partner of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup for nearly a decade. Land Rover’s ‘We Deal In Real’ campaign continues to champion grassroots rugby through Premiership Rugby and the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup. @LandRoverRugby #WeDealInReal.</b>
