Cian’s big day out with rugby’s elite
SCHOOLBOY EARNS SPECIAL TRIP TO TWICKENHAM
A COUNTY schoolboy had a day out that he will never forget when he was a guest of honour at Leicester Tigers’ dramatic Premiership Play-off Final victory at Twickenham last weekend, writes Megan Armitage of Sportsbeat.
Cian Allen, 11, of Market Harborough was thrilled at the chance to watch Tigers, but also got to go on the hallowed turf and met legendary British Lion Sam Warburton and former England prop David Flatman.
Cian, who plays for Market Harborough Rugby Club, won the opportunity to rub shoulders with English rugby’s elite after impressing at Tigers’ Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup festival.
This successful series of nationwide rugby festivals, now running for nearly two decades and organised by Land Rover has seen more than 100,000 children take part, with some realising their dreams of going on to play for Premiership rugby clubs.
Each Premiership club hosted a festival this season, with the U12 and U11 winning teams team getting the chance to take part in the half-time Parade of Champions on the pitch at Twickenham and meeting a host of Land Rover ambassadors.
Graduates of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup have gone on to realise their rugby ambitions, including Louis Lynagh at Harlequins and Callum Chick at Newcastle Falcons.
Cian said: “I’m very, very excited. Everything is exciting, I just love that I’m here and I just love rugby.
“I’m very happy with my team and I want to carry on playing rugby in the future, definitely.”
Market Harborough’s U11s head coach, Paul Bagburn, hailed the performance of his team this season and his pride in seeing his side succeed.
He said: “It’s amazing to be here. What they’ve achieved, I think it’s more as a collective, we strive to make sure from the beginning that they all play as a team and that’s what it’s about.
“I think hopefully this gives us a bit more of a stepping stone for next season to take it forward and enjoy it more, but take it to the next level.
“They are amazing events and as long as the kids enjoy it that’s the point.”
Land Rover ambassador Sam Warburton was speaking at this season’s Premiership Final, where he met youngsters from the national grassroots initiative.
He said: “Sport’s important because it teaches kids how to communicate, how to win and how to lose. That camaraderie and a sense of belonging.
“That’s why I love rugby, being a team sport, it’s physical and tough but it’s a great feeling and you get that at a professional level as well as grassroots.
“The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup is a great taste in that success when you can see hundreds of kids around you play. As a young person that’s an amazing sense of achievement so I love how this is the opportunity we give these kids.
“Just to give them that bit of motivation. Some kids will just enjoy the moment for what it is but I think there will be a penny that drops for a few of them that are uber competitive that will kick them onto greater things.”
Land Rover has been supporting grassroots rugby in the UK for nearly two decades, through the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup.