Premiership Rugby’s most exhilarating and energetic form is back in a couple of week’s time with the 2015 Singha Sevens tournament kicking off with the first round of matches at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.
The 14 minutes-a-side game returns on August 15th, where Cardiff Blues, Scarlets, Newport Gwent Dragons and Ospreys will battle it out in a Round Robin style competition for the chance to become winners of Group A. As last year’s runners-up, the Dragons will be hungry to do one better and get their hands on silverware this time round. Conquering their Welsh counterparts will be their first priority, but no doubt Director of Rugby Lyn Jones will be keeping a close eye on teams in other groups that could undo his quick-footed and flashy players further along in the competition.
The following Thursday 20th will see defending Champions Gloucester Rugby host Bath, Exeter Chiefs and London Irish at Kingsholm. The Cherry and White’s Sevens team look to make it a third consecutive win in the Series after a historic 12-5 victory in 2014 made them the first team to win successive finals. Perhaps a home crowd could play into Gloucester’s hands, and with the usual noise produced from the Kingsholm stands, it is set to be an exciting and electric night of rugby that could see the likes of Irish proving stiff competition for the title holders. The Exiles’ Shane Geraghty highlighted the importance of the Sevens tournament in how it allows younger talent to show their skill and ability in a shortened format of the regular game:
“It’s a great opportunity for some of the youngsters and some of the other players to get involved and enjoy playing an open brand of rugby… There is no hiding place in terms of skill level – passing, tackling, you’re very much one-on-one quite a bit whereas in XVs you normally have a bit of cover helping you out.”
Irish, who beat Gloucester in the final of 2012, are eager to go further than their quarter-final finish in last year’s run, with Geraghty adding
“In 7s if you miss a tackle it’s a try. Hopefully we’ll put a good team out for the Singha 7s and mount a real challenge.”
Group C will play on 21st August at the Ricoh Arena, the new home of Wasps. They will welcome Harlequins, Saracens and Midlands rivals Northampton Saints to this Friday night event that promises to display some of rugby’s fastest game-play. In the 2014 series, a try was scored every 2.37 minutes on average whilst a huge 37.2 points were scored per match.
Moving North to Newcastle the next day, Group D sees Leicester Tigers, Sale Sharks and recently promoted Worcester Warriors compete with hosts Falcons to determine who gets the final two places in the quarter finals. Falcons, who won in 2011, cannot guarantee a home advantage as both Sale and Leicester are itching to stamp their authority on their Kings of the North rivals, whilst Worcester will be looking to get a taste of Premiership rugby once again. Tigers came runners up in 2013, and after a somewhat edgy last season, Richard Cockerill’s side look to regain the confidence that comes with winning.
The top two teams from each group will progress into the quarter finals, to be held at Twickenham Stoop on 28th August with the latter stages of the competition continuing later on that night. Winners from each game will go into the Cup semi-final, which is to be played after the Plate semi-final by the four teams who lost their quarter final fixture, the victors of which will go into the Plate final. The late night Cup final is bound to equal the flair and thrill of previous years.
There is no question that it will provide fans with a spectacle of pacey and ambitious rugby – the only question is, who will be lifting the Cup at the end of August?
Main Photo
