WORCESTER under 12s player Sam Newby missed out on the Aviva Premiership final but enjoyed a memorable Worcester Warriors festival.

Newby and his team-mates hoped to head to Twickenham on May 27 to meet an England 2003 World Cup winner and join in a half-time parade.

But it was not to be despite a strong performance at the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup in Worcester.

The hosts showed maturity beyond their years with brave tackling, crisp passes and slick offloads in a tournament involving 30 teams, including Kidderminster Carolians, Redditch, Wolverhampton and Hereford.

Newby said: “It was really good but sadly we weren’t able to earn that trip to Twickenham after losing our semi-final. But it was a good effort from the team.

“We were the local team and it was good to get quite far while playing across the road from Warriors.

“We’ve played on the pitch there at half-time before. I’m a Warriors fan and hopefully I’ll get to play there properly when I’m older.

“I’ve been playing since I was six and I’ve started to play at inside centre where I really like it when I go past defenders.”

Warriors back row Matt Cox supported the event, signing autographs and having his photo taken with the young players.

He said: “It’s great to see so many young kids get the chance to play right next to Sixways and there’s such a good prize at the end of it.

"Going to Twickenham is what every player dreams of when growing up.

“Worcester have a good record when it comes to bringing young players through their academy and hopefully playing in this will inspire some of them to follow in our footsteps.

“The standard of play was good and I’ve been surprised with just how intense it was, considering the kids are only 11 or 12 years old.”

The Wolverines under 12s previously won a cup at the Sutton Coldfield tournament after going undefeated all day and not conceding a try.

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