TWO junior York RUFC teams will run out at Twickenham next month after qualifying for the finals of a national competition.

Five teams took part in the festival day at Nottingham University and the Under-11s and U9s both won a place at the finals after beating off teams from across the country.

The U11s finished fourth in their group of six and then overcame other third and fourth placed teams in a series of knock-out games to qualify for the Prudential Plate final, where they will face a team from Braintree in Essex.

And the U9s will be there to cheer them on and go for their own glory after qualifying for the equivalent final despite a terrible opening day which saw them end the day bottom of their group.

But an incredible display saw them draw with the group leaders then win comfortably in the last two games to finish fourth.

In the play-offs, they faced a team who narrowly missed out on a place in the top two to qualify for the cup play-offs and drew after a close game. The try counts were totted up and York progressed having scored one try more in the tournament.

Both teams are now looking for sponsorship to help get them to London on May 30 for the event, which will be part of the pre-match build-up to the England v Barbarians contest later in the day.

Anyone who thinks they can help can contact U11s coach Neil Harrison on 07900 934108, U9s coach Chris Toplis on 07715 698493 or any member of the youth committee at the club.

Updated: 09:31 Friday, May 07, 2004