TWO junior teams from Bridport RFC did their club proud at the London Irish Land Rover Cup festival, but just missed out on a trip to Twickenham.

The under-11s and 12s set off from Bridport early on Sunday morning and were supported by coaches and parents on the three-hour coach ride.

A total of 32 teams were vying to represent Irish at England rugby headquarters next May, with the 11 other Aviva Premiership clubs also holding qualifying competitions too.

The under-11s had a tough day on the pitch with three losses and a draw.

Taking on Wimborne, they knew they had to be switched on from the start and, although they did their best, a Wimborne try put Bridport behind at half-time.

After a quick turnaround, it was Bridport that applied the pressure and a crashing drive saw Reuben Jolliffe level the scores.

It remained tight until the last minute when Wimborne made their possession count to snatch a 10-5 win.

The second game against Tadley A was a real nail-biter for everyone involved.

No tries were scored by either team and the match was always in the balance, but it was Bridport’s best result as they held the eventual semi-finalists to a scoreless draw.

Back-to-back fixtures followed and after losing 20-0 to Harlequins, the Blues went down to a 25-0 loss against Reading Abbey.

It’s still early days for the Bridport squad and their weaknesses were highlighted by a more experienced and bigger set of opponents.

Against some big clubs, the under-12s’ performances improved throughout the tournament.

A narrow 5-0 defeat to Wimborne was followed by a 10-5 victory against Farnborough, with tries coming from Eddie Gate and Henry Wirral.

After this exhaustive effort, Brid-port faced their toughest opponents, Wooten Bassett, and despite a superb team performance, they lost 10-0.

The final pool game saw Bridport drawn against Heathfield and a try from Joe Elsworth put the Blues ahead early on.

Heathfield came back strongly and scored twice but Bridport dug deep to equalise with another Elsworth score.

The under-12s have an exciting squad that is really gelling together and they can be proud of their work at the festival.