THE chairman of Sudbury RFC has paid tribute to the club’s youth section after a hugely successful mini-festival.

Sunday’s annual feast of youth rugby saw 800 youngsters turn out for a variety of teams across the Eastern Counties, aged between Under-7s to Under-12s.

Mike Beckett, chairman at Sudbury RFC, said: “It was a highly successful event. It was very well-organised by our minis chairman and team of coaches. In fact, I would say it was our best festival so far.”

Beckett said he was especially proud of the fact that the festival remained free to all.

He added: “It is very important to hold these festivals to promote rugby to as many people as possible.

“It is also a great way for the youngsters to show what they have learnt over the summer and judging by what we saw on Sunday, the future is bright.”

The festival completes the triplet of fantastic youth events after ones held at Colchester and Ipswich.