LAND ROVER

Pictures: Pinnacle Photo Agency

LAND ROVER CUP PROVES A HIT

The first-ever Land Rover Premiership Rugby Club held by Exeter Chiefs proved to be a real hit as youngsters from Topsham and Sidmouth scooped the honours at Sandy Park last Saturday.

In an action-packed day, the grassroots festival saw 24 teams compete in the national tournament, which is aimed at players in the Under-11 and 12 age groups.

Teams from the Chiefs, Okehampton, Wellington, Honiton, Topsham, Exmouth, Kingsbridge, Totnes, Exeter Saracens, Taunton, Sidmouth, Cullompton, Launceston, Ivybridge, Camborne and North Petherton battled it out in the Under-11 section, whilst the Under-12s was played between sides from Launceston, Tavistock, Teignmouth, Topsham, Camborne, Kingsbridge, Taunton, Ivybridge, Brixham, Sidmouth and Totnes.

With plenty of support on the sidelines not only from parents, organisers and club supporters, many of the Exeter Chiefs first team squad were also on hand to drop by and lend their backing to the talented youngsters.

After a keenly contested series of group matches and semi-finals, a tight Under-12 final saw Sidmouth crowned the winners over Topsham, winning 15-5, while in the Under-11 final, Topsham were this time the victors as they defeated Kingsbridge 25-5.

As well as winning the festival, the young players have also won places in the prestigious Land Rover Parade of Champions where they will be presented to a sell-out crowd at Twickenham during the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final next May.

Exeter Chiefs captain, Tom Hayes, who lent his support to the day, said: “Tournaments such as the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup are fantastic and the intensity of the matches being players just shows how much it means to these youngsters, which is great.”

Keith Fleming from Exeter Chiefs' Community department added: “There was a huge amount of talent on show during the day. It’s great to have a large number of clubs from Devon and Cornwall all in one place, as it allows for us to spot up and coming talented players, at what is a fantastic tournament.”

The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup attracts the finest Under-11 and 12 teams from the various regions, and as a result, it has continued to build in prestige from its inception, with participation at an all time high. The benefit and enjoyment that the youngsters are clearly deriving from the festivals gives great satisfaction to Land Rover, who had hoped for exactly this when establishing the first ever festivals to be officiated by their long-standing partners Premiership Rugby.

Commenting on the support of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup, Anthony Bradbury, Marketing Director of Land Rover UK, said: “We are delighted that the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup has been such a success. 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 now covers all levels of the game, supporting the elite of the England team to young players of the future, and this is something we are extremely proud of.”


Under-11 Pool Games

Exeter Chiefs 0 Wellington 30, Okehampton 0 Honiton 0, Kingsbridge 15 Totnes 0, Exeter Saracens 0 Taunton 0, Topsham 10 Sidmouth 0, Exmouth 0 Cullompton 0, Launceston 10 Ivybridge 0, Camborne 15 North Petherton 0, Exeter Chiefs 0 Topsham 15, Okehampton 0 Exmouth 10, Kingsbridge 5 Launceston 0, Exeter Saracens 0 Camborne 5, Wellington 10 Sidmouth 0, Honiton 0 Cullompton 5, Totnes 5 Ivybridge 10, Taunton 5 North Petherton 5, Exeter Chiefs 0 Sidmouth 0, Okehampton 0 Cullompton 10, Kingsbridge 5 Ivybridge 5, Exeter Saracens 5 North Petherton 0, Wellington 0 Topsham 10, Honiton 0 Exmouth 10, Totnes 0 Launceston 0, Taunton 0 Camborne 5

Semi-Finals: Topsham 10 Camborne 0, Kingsbridge 15 Exmouth 0

Final: Topsham 25 Kingsbridge 5


Under-12 Pool Games

Launceston 10 Teignmouth 5, Tavistock 0 Topsham 5, Launceston 5 Tavistock 10, Teignmouth 0 Topsham 10, Launceston 0 Topsham 10, Teignmouth 0 Tavistock 20.

Camborne 0 Taunton 5, Kingsbridge 35 Totnes 5, Camborne 0 Kingsbridge 20, Taunton 10 Totnes 0, Camborne 10 Totnes 0, Taunton 0 Kingsbridge 10

Ivybridge bye v Cullompton, Brixham 0 Sidmouth 0, Ivybridge 0 Sidmouth 15, Cullompton v Brixham bye, Brixham 5 Ivybridge 0, Cullompton v Sidmouth bye.


Semi-Finals: Kingsbridge 5 Topsham 20, Sidmouth 10 Brixham 0

Final: Topsham 5 Sidmouth 15