The fairytale continued for Stamford RFC’s Finn Maloney after he joined Premiership Rugby’s biggest names at a star-studded season launch at Twickenham last week.  

Maloney, 11, who will start Stamford Endowed Schools this September, rubbed shoulders with the likes of England trio Ben Youngs, James Haskell and Dylan Hartley as the world’s media descended on Twickenham.

The youngster was invited to England HQ by Land Rover to mark its Testimonial Season which celebrates ten-years supporting grassroots rugby in the UK through their sponsorship of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup.

Last season Maloney was hand-picked at a Worcester Warriors-run tournament, where he was selected as the competition’s MVP and was rewarded by appearing at Twickenham back in May for the Premiership Final.

“Walking out at final was absolutely superb because I was joined by my teammates at Twickenham, it was the experience of a lifetime,” said Maloney, who met Worcester Warriors captain Donncha O’Callaghan.

“I wasn’t particularly nervous; the stadium seems bigger when there are no people in it and it seemed smaller when people were in it.

“I was so pleased to meet Donncha because my dad’s Irish.

“The whole experience really inspired me be a rugby player.”

The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup is a series of national grassroots rugby festivals for U11 and U12 rugby teams.

Run in conjunction with all 12 Premiership Rugby clubs, the regional rugby events are an essential part of the UK rugby calendar. To date, nearly 70,000 youngsters have participated in the tournament since its inception.

Land Rover ambassador and former England rugby captain, Lewis Moody, commented:

“Over the years, I have had the chance to meet many of the youngsters to have taken part in the Land Rover Premiership Cup and have seen first-hand the importance of these grassroots rugby festivals,” said Moody.

“The rugby skills, values, teamwork and sheer enjoyment the young rugby players take away are invaluable to the good health of the sport.”

Land Rover is celebrating its ‘Testimonial Season’; ten years of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup. The national series of grassroots rugby festivals is testament to Land Rover’s continued support of grassroots rugby through its ‘We Deal in Real’ campaign. Follow @LandRoverRugby #WeDealInReal