Olney beat off fierce rivals Banbury in what was a closely contested tournament at Franklin’s Gardens. Sixteen teams from across the east of England descended on the home of Northampton Saints before the LV= Cup opener against Gloucester, serving up some cracking entertainment on the Franklin’s Gardens training pitches.
Both Olney and Banbury received their trophies and medals on the main pitch from Saints first teamers Jamie Elliott and Salesi Ma’afu during the half-time break of the main game in front of a crowd of nearly 13,000 spectators.
But next May they will be in front of 82,600 fans at the Aviva Premiership Final, taking part in the annual Parade of Champions, and Olney coach David Betteridge said that he was proud of the effort put in by his players.
“The boys have been fantastic,” he said. “We were up against old rivals all the way through, and have had many a good game against Banbury, who we came up against in the final. We came out on top today; they might come out on top another day.
“There has been great organisation the whole way through. Land Rover do a great job and we’re delighted to be a part of the tournament.
“These types of tournament are absolutely essential to develop our young players, and hopefully some of them will feed into the senior sides.
“The lads will be talking about today for years to come, and so will the coaches! It’s absolutely great and we thoroughly enjoyed it.”
The Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup is a part of the on-going commitment that Land Rover has to the game at grassroots level, ensuring that the company are at the heart of rugby.
For more information on the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup visit www.premiershiprugby.com/landrovercup
