Cumbria Rugby Union

Due to their foresight of providing rugby for young people and merging, both Cockermouth and Keswick Rugby Clubs were rewarded recently by being asked to provide the Guard of Honour at St James' Park for the England v Italy Game. It was the U11's group who were invited and done a sterling job waving the England Flags as the teams entered the pitch for the National Anthems.

This was also recognition for both clubs commitment to the principles of Quilter Kids First Rugby and in particular as mentioned above the formation of the combined "Ospreys" team, when both clubs were short of player numbers at the U12 age group.

Both sets of kids had a great evening with some early pre-match rehearsal of where to stand, when to wave flags and sing the national anthem. After some brief words of encouragement from Eddie Jones they welcomed the players onto the pitch and sang the national anthem.

Once the ceremonies were complete, the kids hotfooted to the pick up point ready to go to their seats and enjoy the match.They were also invited to do a halftime lap of the pitch waving and 'high fiving' with the crowd. In the second half a combination of burgers, drinks and sweets, some tries for England and the odd mexican wave meant there were lots of smiling faces after the match.

Hopefully this will inspire the kids to work hard, continue to enjoy their rugby and encourage their friends to join them at their rugby club.