Last month saw fourteen of our minis and juniors experience a day in the life of an England player, courtesy of Old Mutual Wealth. The DMP juniors got the chance to play touch on the hallowed Twickenham turf, receiving awards from England internationals David Flatman, Ugo Monye and Alex Goode. The lucky group won the experience through Old Mutual’s Kids First programme, in association with the RFU, after coaches Francesca Harding and Ian Hammond entered their Facebook competition. The children were all accompanied by their parents in what was an amazing weekend for all involved.

The weekend started with some of the children watching England take on the Barbarians the previous day, before staying in the stadium’s adjacent hotel for the evening. The next morning saw them sorted into teams before making the famous journey to the stadium, which Harry Harding will always remember: “We met the England players and they took us out of the Grand Slam room and down onto the England tour bus. When we got off the bus we ran through the parents who were cheering and giving high fives just like the England team the day before.”

They were then led into the England changing rooms for an inspirational team talk from the England players. Ben Harding said: “The changing rooms were overwhelming and I listened really hard to the team talk from the Players who were there. We met Flatman and Goode and Ugo the funny one!” Shortly afterwards the children made their way out onto the pitch for some touch rugby. AJ Wild really enjoyed running out onto the famous turf: “It felt really special to run out of the English tunnel where real players run out of, and I loved singing the national anthem.” Brother Danny Wild was equally pleased: “We sung the national anthem and saw ourselves on the big screen. Thank you to the under 11s coach for winning the prize.”

All of the children were then presented with a medal before the day concluded with a Q&A with the famous players and a barbecue for all involved. The Old Mutual Wealth Kids First initiative provides children from U7s through to U13s with the opportunity to prosper by fostering an environment for having fun, learning and building confidence. For more information on the initiative visit: www.englandrugby.com/kidsfirst.