ALTON Rugby Club juniors will embark on the first step towards a possible Twickenham appearance on Sunday as the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup returns for its tenth anniversary season.

London Irish are hosting their under-11 and under-12 grassroots rugby festival at Henley Rugby Club and Alton will be taking part.

The festival is part of a series of nationwide events which give promising young players the chance to play in a high-profile event and meet professionals from London Irish.

With 36 teams competing at Henley, the Alton youngsters will have a taste of a truly competitive tournament.

Winger Topsy Ojo, who is London Irish’s all-time leading try scorer with 73 in all competitions, says there is nothing more important than supporting youth rugby.

“My first ever rugby experience was tag rugby when I was ten years old, playing for Dartford Grammar School back in Kent. Then I played age-group rugby for my school right the way through.

“Grassroots rugby is huge. If you look at the origins of the England squad now, of where they’ve come through, there’s a very obvious pathway.

“It does always start at grassroots, so whether you’re four, five, six, seven, or even if you start much later, there’s always time and there’s always opportunity. It’s really important that we nurture that as early as possible – for the future of the game.”

One team from each age group will win a trip to the Aviva Premiership Final on May 26, where they will join in a Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup parade at half-time and hear which of them has won a club MVP award.

In the ten years since its inception, the Land Rover Premiership Cup has seen more than 70,000 children take part.

The national series of grassroots rugby festivals is testament to Land Rover’s continued support of grassroots rugby through its ‘We Deal In Real’ campaign. Follow @LandRoverRugby #WeDealInReal