LYDNEY Under-8s surprised themselves with a tournament-winning performance at Berry Hill.

With only a few competitive games under their belts, the side went into the Berry Hill rugby festival with low expectations.

The team started on a high with a 6-3 win over Longlevens, five points coming from James Roberts and the other from Lydney's man of the tournament Aston Jeffs.

The next game was a Forest derby with Cinderford and Lydney needed a James Roberts try with the last play of the match to earn a 5-5 draw. James got a hat-trick and the other points came from Mackenzie Venner and Leo Loew.

Lydney looked to be cruising to a win over Widden Old Boys but they let the lead slip and the game finished in a 6-6 draw. There were four points from James Roberts and one each from Aston Jeffs and Jacob Nelmes.

Lydney faced a strong Bream squad in the final and squeezed him 8-7 thanks largely to five tries from Aston Jeffs. James Roberts scored twice and the other point came from Joe Powell.

It was a strong performance by the Lydney team who had Korey Cox and Kieran Hudson who had stepped up from the under-7s at short notice.