EIGHTY rugby-mad youngsters at Icknield Community College, Watlington, received a masterclass from London Wasps stars Tom Rees and Chris Elder.

Rees, who has 15 caps for England, and Elder, who had a spell on loan at Chinnor two years ago, visited the school to deliver expert advice ahead of ESPN’s live coverage of Wasps v Saracens on Sunday.

They were joined by commentator Nick Mullins and four community coaches in running the training session.

Adrian Thomas, of Icknield’s PE department, hailed the event as: “A fantastic day and a great opportunity for the boys and girls to learn more about rugby.”

And Mullins added: “The success of the event can be gauged by the fact that it felt like -4 degrees and that we were on an Antarctic expedition, but the kids all had huge smiles on their faces and loved being exposed to the quality of the coaching provided by London Wasps.”

The event was part of ESPN’s Premiership Rugby Masterclass programme, which has seen the American TV network visiting schools and grassroots rugby clubs across the country.

The best-performing children from each of the sessions will be ESPN’s guests at the Premiership Final in May, and will receive a coaching session at Twickenham and the chance to get a look at the behind-the-scenes TV production.