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Under-14s enjoy sharing the spotlight

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Teams of under-14 players had the opportunity of a lifetime on Saturday when they played on Leicester Tigers turf in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Cup.

The teams played in qualifying rounds of games at the Tigers training ground at Oval Park and then Welford Road hosted the finals to decide the finishing order in the Leicester leg of a tournament taking place at the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs.

The J.P. Morgan festival provides valuable experience of the 7s rugby format to youngsters at grassroots club and helps in their rugby development.

Teams representing Walsall, Oadby Wyggestonian, Tamworth, Market Harborough, Leicester Forest, Hinckley and Rugby St Andrews battled it out.

Rugby St Andrews finally took top spot with victory over Oadby Wyggs in the J. P Morgan Final and they will be invited to attend next summer’s J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series Final, a prestigious tournament in which the Premiership Rugby clubs compete.

All of the tournament’s players enjoyed a half-time reception from a big Tigers crowd on the pitch at half-time, when they were also joined by star players Tom Croft and Ben Youngs, before returning for their final game at the end of Leicester’s 64-7 pre-season victory over Nottingham.

Wayne Morris, head of community at Premiership Rugby, said: "The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Cup is a fantastic opportunity for youngsters to gain valuable experience of the 7s game and have fun.

“Rugby 7s is growing in popularity year on year and will be featured as an Olympic sport for the first time in 2016."

Roger Thompson, head of UK at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, reinforced how important the tournament is to the future of Rugby 7s, saying: "We are excited to be involved with the 7s Cup and hope to see some future Olympic 7s players emerging."

Scott Clarke, Tigers community manager, said: “The standard of play among teams of under-14s was excellent throughout the day and they certainly enjoyed the experience.

“To see young players out on the Welford Road pitch, following in the footsteps of Tigers stars like Manu Tuilagi, Toby Flood, Geordan Murphy, Dan Cole and Martin Castrogiovanni is such a great experience for them, their parents and their supporters from their own clubs.”