THE AVIVA Premiership final may be six months away but Silhillians Rugby Club under-11s starlet Kieran Daly admits he will be counting down the days after booking his spot at Twickenham with victory in the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup.
The first national grassroots tournament is officiated by Premiership Rugby and run in conjunction with all 12 clubs in the league.
Over 7,000 children will take participate this season as they go in search of a spot in the ‘Parade of Champions’ during half-time of the Aviva Premiership Grand Final.
And Daly made sure to put his name down on the guest list, as he and his under-11s side strutted their stuff on Saturday as Northampton Saints hosted the best local junior teams at Franklin’s Gardens.
The team went unbeaten throughout the group stages, conceding only one try, before defeating Braintree RFC 4-2 in a dramatic Cup final, and Daly insisted he could not be prouder.
“It feels so great to have won the whole tournament.” said the 11-year-old skipper. “It was such a tight final and the time was ticking so slowly there at the end, so it was really tense.
“We’re glad it’s over now and that we’ve got the victory, and I think the team really deserved it as we got better and better as the day went on.
“This is definitely our biggest tournament of the year and we’ve really be looking forward to it for a while.
“We’ve been playing big matches before this to prepare as well, and it’s been a great atmosphere here which we’ve really enjoyed.
“I like the challenge of a day like this as there are some great teams here, and it’s so we definitely improve as players as well and bond as a team.”
“I love rugby because in some sports you might have one person who is the best on a team, but in rugby it’s not like that. You have to have your team there with you.”
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.
