England ace touches down at Bridgnorth

The Bennett Cup sees Bridgnorth and the Old Bees Under-16s go head-to-head and was the brainchild of grandparent John Bennett, who had two sons whose children played for the two teams.

And Bridgnorth players were given a boost when LV ambassador Youngs dropped by to offer his advice to the team.

Bridgnorth place great emphasis on grassroots rugby with mentors assigned to the young players and the first-team training alongside the under-16s every Tuesday and Thursday.

In the end, Youngs' presence was not quite enough to help them over the line to victory but Brian Smallman, head coach of the first XV, admitted the day would live long in the memories of the club's players.

"It was a really special day for myself and the club and the boys involved," said Smallman, whose son Patrick plays in the under-16s.

Amazing

"The boys thought it was all about the camera crew coming down and making the short film and then Ben Youngs turned up. The look on their faces was amazing.

"He spoke to the boys about building memories because at that age it could be the last time all those boys are out on a pitch together.

"They've been together for years but it's the age where they might start to go in different directions so it was a special day.

"Last year it was 55-0 and this year it was 43-26 so the gap got a little smaller.

"It was a real family occasion as well, my brother is the director of rugby and my son, Patrick, played in the game and Darren Riley, the coach of the under-16s is a very close family friend and his son, James, played too, so it was brilliant for everyone to be involved together.

"It all came about because of the progress we've made on the pitch in the last three years, we've done fantastically well, as well as the work we've done in the community."

The scrum-half has enjoyed a fine season with Leicester Tigers while helping England to Six Nations success and the grand slam and he was impressed with what he saw from Bridgnorth's rising stars.

"When I walked in and saw the smiles on the boys' faces, they lit up and you realise what it can do just spending some time with them in grassroots rugby," said Youngs.

"I gave them a bit of a chat and then helped out for the day, did as much as I could and tried to help them get ready for the game.

"Unfortunately they lost but the spirit of rugby was great. All the way through they played with a lot of passion and pride and the main thing was the togetherness that was on display at the end of the match.

"I've lots of memories from grassroots rugby myself and some of the best are the mini-festivals when you are kids.

"Sometimes kids playing at local clubs forget that it is where everyone else started, every player, whether it be rugby, football, or whatever else, started at their local club and it is important for them to realise that there is no reason why they cannot be the next Premiership player or England player."

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