Worcester Warriors hosted an exciting under-11 and under-12 grassroots developmental festival this weekend as the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup continued.

This successful series of nationwide events, now running for more than a decade, has seen more than 82,000 children take part to date and continues to grow, providing developmental experience for young players to excel in a professionally run environment.

The under 12 competition was a fantastic spectacle for those in attendance with the highly competitive fixtures providing a meaningful platform for youngsters to develop their rugby skills.

It was a competition to watch with Stourbridge victorious, showing great spirit right up until the final whistle to earn a trip to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final on June 1, where they will meet a Land Rover rugby ambassador, and join in a Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup Parade at half-time.

And new for this season, Land Rover will be introducing the Junior Land Rover Discovery of The Season award, which is intended to identify and reward one youngster who has showcased the values of rugby during the tournament.

William Shillingford, from Stourbridge, was excited to be there on the day and thanked Worcester Warriors for giving him a special day at Rugby HQ to look forward too.

He said: “It’s a great feeling to have won the competition and it means we can go to Twickenham. I thought we would do well but I wasn’t sure if we’d win so to do that was amazing.

“It means everything to me. The teams we played were really tough so it’s fantastic to have won.

“We’ve been training for a long time for this and it took all of our effort to win and we eventually did. I’ve never been to Twickenham so I don’t know what it will be like but I think it’s going to be amazing.

In the under 11 festival all teams displayed fantastic resolve and demonstrated the core values of the game throughout: - teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship.

And joining Stourbridge at Twickenham will be Oswestry with 10-year-old Oliver Cooper now counting down the days until the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final.

He said: “It’s unbelievable. We’re just a small, little town going to London and to go to Twickenham for a huge match.

“I’ve loved playing rugby at Worcester Warriors, we won all our matches and we cannot wait to go to the final next year. It was really good fun to play with my friends and I got a few assists. This will be my first time at Twickenham and I cannot wait.”

Participating players at the festival also had the opportunity to meet Worcester Warriors duo Ethan Waller and Jamie Shillcock who took time out of his schedule to watch the young teams as well as offer some coaching tips between games.

And Waller commented on the importance of grassroots rugby, saying: “It’s a brilliant day for rugby. It’s great for these young guys to come down and play; we’ve had 44 teams across the under 11 and under 12 events so it’s been fantastic.

“Everyone gets a chance to play against each other, see what the sport is about and meet new people as well.

“For anyone to get the chance to go to Twickenham it’s a really special occasion, there’s nothing better than stepping on the hallowed turf and it’s something they will savour for a long time.”

Land Rover has heritage in rugby at all levels; from grassroots to elite, sharing and understanding the values at the heart of the game. Follow @LandRoverRugby