Rovers' under 8s once again celebrated victory on foreign soil after returning to St. Tropez to successfully defend the Challenge Marcel Aubour Saint-Tropez trophy.
Last year the under 8s took part in the tournament at the request of Howard Walker, the son of the late Jack Walker, and went all the way to the final before defeating Roquebrune 4-1. This year, against much stronger opposition, the young Rovers went and repeated the feat.
A squad of eight went out for the five-a-side tournament along with coaches Simon Ireland and Rick Bell and Youth Scout Coordinator Tony Hartley. 32 teams took part in the two-day tournament including the likes of Barcelona, Olympique Marseille, Nice, AS Monaco, Lyon and Belgium side K.A.A. Gent.
The young charges topped their group winning all but one of their ten matches before defeating AS Monaco 4-1 in the quarter-finals. They didn't find it as easy against Gent in the semis but progressed to the final after a 2-0 victory.
Pre-tournament favourites Lyon were to be Rovers' opponents in the final but they were dispatched in style as Rovers triumphed 4-0 much to the delight of Assistant Academy Manager Simon Ireland.
"It was nice to be invited back to defend the trophy and there were a few more quality teams entered this time," said Ireland. "It was one of those tournaments where everything clicked, we were in a free goal scoring mode.
"Ellis Simms claimed the golden boot which is a great achievement and it is a great result for our recruitment department as well as the coaching department as we are getting good young technical players.
"France has set the benchmark in youth training so to go out and beat the top French teams is an excellent achievement."
Out of the 13 games Rovers played, they scored an impressive 43 goals, of which golden boot winner Ellis Simms scored 32 of them. But the defenders also played their part as just three goals were conceded.
Whilst Howard Walker wasn't able to attend the tournament this year he kept in regular contact to check on their progress. He did see Rovers in action however as he was busy cheering the seniors onto victory over Wigan at Ewood Park.
Pictured with their trophy (L-R): Patrick Lane, Rowan McDonald, Harry Brown, Leighton Clarkson, Reon Haworth, Ryan Rydal, George Wilson, Ellis Simms along with Tony Hartley and Rick Bell.
