THE season came to a remarkable end for Macclesfield Rugby Club’s under-10s when they beat the cream of the country’s teams to lift the Twickenham Festival trophy.

The event began in March in Nottingham when the junior Blues pitted their skills against 16 other teams.

Macc won six games and lost just one to top their group, scoring 28 tries and conceding just five. The sole defeat was their second loss in two years.

The other group was topped by Otley, who won all seven games without conceding a single try

Ahead of the festival showpiece at Twickenham, Macc faced Otley in the final of the York Festival and edged a bruising encounter against tough opponents.

Entering A and B teams in each tournament, the squad has won every tournament they have entered this year, including the Manchester Tournament, the Macclesfield Floodlight tournament, the Cheshire Cup, Wilmslow Tournament and the York Festival.

While extra training sessions were held, head coach Peter Jones and wife Caroline had the heady task of arranging travel and accommodation. Meanwhile, Carl Phelan, Ian Jennings, Graham Cole and Andy, Peter and Robin Jones,.

On the day of the finals at rugby union’s headquarters, the squad - Nathan Jones, Elliot Jones, George Williams, Tom Morgan, Tom Holmes, George Phelan, Will Hodgson, Coran Duncan, Harry Blackwell, Callum Levelle, Austin White and Tom Jennings - were fully revved up and ready for action.

The matches were scheduled to take place ahead of the Guinness Premiership’s showpiece final between Wasps and Leicester, which saw a crowd of around 82,000 fill Twickenham.

The Priory Park team had a slow start in their semi-final against Teddington which tested the nerves of the watching parents and friends.

The Macc forwards started to take control, winning the ball in the breakdown and producing good ball for the backs, which produced a try for Austin White to win the game.

Around 6,000 supporters were in the stadium for the final, in which Macclesfield again faced Otley.

The Macc pack took the game by the scruff of the neck from the opening whistle and steamrollered their opposition. This dominance, coupled with the aggressive tackling of the three-quarter line, allowed for some great moves from the backs and resulted in winger Tom Jennings rounding off a well-worked move.

The try proved conclusive and the final whistle signalled the start of the celebrations for Macclesfield’s national championship.

A club spokesman said: "There are no individuals in this squad, they are all heroes in our eyes.

"This all goes back to the tremendously strong 30-man squad we have back at Macclesfield who are also champions in the coaches eyes.

"Special thanks go to the coaches, admin manager, Kate Cridland, and the parents who have made this season so memorable."