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It’s a monster weekend of Bank Holiday weekend of rugby sevens in the UK and Ireland with big events all over the place. Wimbledon Common plays host to a brand new exciting event from May 1-2, the London Rugby Festival. UR7s are never one to miss a sevens party so caught up with organiser Nick Canty, a former London Irish player, to find out the craic.

So why did you decide to put on an event like this Nick?

We put this together on the basis that we didn’t feel that there was weekend or festival feeling that incorporated rugby. We wanted to build a real rugby Bank Holiday event and party for people of all ages and build a real atmosphere. We have got some quality sides involved and we just want to put on a good, fun and enjoyable few days.

Which rugby pros will be making it down to Festival?

We have coaching masterclasses from the likes of London Irish’s Peter Richards and Chris Malone on the Saturday afternoon. Jordan Turner-Hall will be around on the Sunday for some coaching too.

Outside of the rugby what else is there to enjoy at the London Rugby Festival?

We have some fun inflatables down a bucking bronco and tug of war. The bars will open in the evening and on the Saturday night we have a tribal themed event with a Full Moon party planned on Sunday.

And you are encouraging people to come down and spend the weekend camping?

Yeah absolutely, we thought it would be good to have a camping element in there as it keeps people down there and makes the atmosphere great. People don’t have to worry about getting home and it gives everyone a base to socialise and relax in. It is economical as way as it is cheap to camp instead of paying top wack at a hotel.

And you have some strong sides in the main Superstars draw?

We have tried to get the best sides we can in. Teams like Ronin and Apache have committed and it has been great to get the support there needed.

And I see the Armitage brothers have put a side in?

My initial idea after seeing the Armitage part of the Stash All-Stars at Bournemouth was to get them along to the London Rugby Festival and possibly get them to play together too. But with their London Irish commitments I doubt we will Delon and Steffon on the paddock itself. But they have helped put a side together and their younger brother Guy will be playing along with his mates. They have some tasty players but Steffon won’t reveal to me who they are!

And with the Men’s Open and Touch event everyone can really get stuck in?

We don’t want to exclude anyone really that is why we have put the top level of Superstars in. We have the Men’s Open and the Touch event which is for anyone on the day who fancies playing. You can sign and participate in a six-a-side event which will a round-robin format.

How many people can we expect down with you on Wimbledon Common?

It is difficult to pinpoint what turnout we can expect that depends on the weather but let’s hope we can people there to chuck the ball around.

Is running a tournament and event on this scale stressful?!

It has been tough at time with plenty of bridges to cross. There has been positive and doubtful times. But generally it has been a good experience and we have always moved forward. You get those weeks where you seem to plateau when no-one gets back to you but then there are other times when you accelerate and things move along very fast. We have learnt loads which we can use for next year.

Any future plans for the event?

Our main target is to put on a fun and enjoyable tournament for the spectators and that the players enjoy. We want to get people talking about it. We want to expand next year. We wanted a women’s competition but unfortunately with the clash of the World Cup we haven’t managed to do too much of that but that will hopefully change next year. Also get the real youngsters in and get a minis event set up and potentially include some of the universities. There are plans but it is all about making this