By Joanna Pendleton

Blackheath assistant coach Steve Harrison admits his U12s side will not forget their Aviva Premiership Rugby Final experience in a hurry after sharing the Twickenham turf with some of England’s World Cup hopefuls.  

As Saracens and Bath Rugby battled it out for Aviva Premiership Rugby glory in Saturday’s final, Blackheath U12s also descended on rugby HQ.

Harrison’s youngsters got their moment in the spotlight during half-time in front of the sell-out 80,000 crowd as they took part in the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup Parade of Champions.

Their time to shine was reward for their performances at a Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup festival held by Wasps back in September.

And Harrison believes his team loved every minute of their experience of a lifetime.

“It was an absolutely fantastic day for the team – they made so much noise and really enjoyed themselves,” he said.

“Quite a few of the boys are Saracens fans so they were delighted by the end of the match.

“I think watching big games like the final help spur young players on and show them what sort of reward you can get if you put in the hard work.

“They felt like they were superstars walking round. They took loads of pictures and will be able to look back on this day forever.”

Not only did Blackheath U12s get to walk on the hallowed Twickenham turf, they also got to meet and hear from former World Cup winner and England captain Lewis Moody.

Moody admits that he was just as impressed with Blackheath U12s as he was with the two teams going head to head for the Aviva Premiership Rugby crown.

He said: “The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup is a fantastic event for inspiring young rugby players.

“Kids need to be inspired and if this is one way of inspiring kids into rugby then I think it’s brilliant.

“The chance to stand on the pitch, the hallowed turf where their heroes have been – that’s a dream for any rugby player or fan.

“By having these kids come to Twickenham, seeing what it’s about and walking out in front of a bumper crowd, it might inspire them to progress further with their rugby.

“You never know, we might see a couple of them as future England stars in World Cups to come.”

Land Rover supports grassroots rugby and provides the opportunity for over 7,000 youngsters to take part in the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup each season.

Keep up to date with the latest Land Rover rugby activity by following @LandRoverRugby on Twitter.