A TEAM from Blackburn Rovers' Academy won a prestigious youth tournament in the South of France - much to the delight of Howard Walker.

Mr Walker, who is the son of the late Jack Walker, invited Rovers to the French Riviera, where he has a base, to compete in the Challenge Marcel Aubour Saint-Tropez tournament, which featured representatives from some of Europe's biggest clubs.

And after two days of intense competition, the Rovers team, led by Assistant Academy director Simon Ireland and scouting co-ordinator Tony Hartley, swept to victory, beating French side Roquebrune 4-1 in the final.

"The lads performed brilliantly over the course of the weekend and Mr Walker was delighted with them," said Ireland.

"To play in tournaments like that is a great learning experience for our young players because they get to play against teams they wouldn't normally do.

"Overall we played 12 games over the two days and only lost one, and at the end of it the lads got presented with a magnificent trophy, which looks like the Champions League."

A host of top teams, including Baraccelona, Montpellier, FC Basle, Monaco and Nice, took part in the tournament, which was for Under 8s.

On the Saturday, Rovers won four, drew one, and lost one on their way to qualifying for the second day.

Then on the Sunday two further wins and a draw ensured Rovers topped their group, and they then went on to beat Toulouse and Montpellier en route to the final.

Meanwhile, Rovers' Under 18s finished their season on a disappointing note by losing 2-1 to Wolves at the weekend, Kris Paterson scoring a late consolation.