Carlisle Rugby Club hope to wrap up the North One West title at Firwood Waterloo tomorrow – but they have already embraced precious silverware at their Warwick Road base.

On Tuesday night, for two hours, the Carlisle clubhouse hosted the two major European trophies, which are doing a tour of the region.

The Heineken Champions Cup and the European Challenge Cup were on display in the clubhouse to promote the two finals taking place in Newcastle next month. Those two games are being staged on the weekend of May 10-11 at St James’ Park, with the Challenge Cup final on Friday, May 10 at 7.45pm and the Champions Cup on Saturday, May 11 at 5pm.

David Morton, Carlisle's secretary, said: “We were delighted to have the honour of hosting the event and it certainly created a fair amount of interest.

“There was a steady stream of people to see the trophies, from toddlers right through to octogenarians which was very good to see.

“We were the only club in Cumbria to host the tour, which was an honour in itself. They had come from an event earlier in the day at a school in Hexham.

“It was a good idea to take the trophies round the region to promote interest in the finals and I am sure they will be rewarded on the two days.”

The trophies were accompanied by the events mascot, Stephen the Seahorse, and fans were able to have photographs taken with the trophies and the mascot, while having the chance to win tickets to the Challenge Cup Final.