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England and Wales lead high quality field at ULR Premier

Friday 1 May 2009 (Bury Times)

Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club is preparing itself for one of the most high calibre one-day invitational tournaments of the summer on Sunday. The inaugral  ULR Premier Invitation 7s, taking place at Bury St Edmunds Haberden ground, will attract some of the strongest 7s operators in the UK to East Anglia with the two obvious outstanding sides being England and Wales.

Wales, current holders of the World Cup Sevens, will be playing under the banner of the Welsh Warriors, with coach Paul John expected to include players who will be turning out at Twickenham and Murrayfield for the last legs of the IRB World Sevens Series.

Also attending will be the England 7s coaching team of Ben Ryan and Russell Earnshaw who will be looking after the St George 7s team. Similarly to Wales, Ryan and Earnshaw will use players from their current squad, as well as some young and exciting developing players looking ahead to the rest of the international season.

Apart from these two sides there is a genuine high quality field on show with Northampton Saints, Blackheath, London Scottish the best of clubs on show. From the invitational sides to be seen on Sunday the ULR Samurai International side will be challenging for major honors along with the Marauders. New-boys Elite ID are making their UK debut with a strong Premiership contingent whilst Apaches, Scorpions, and Cambridge University are other sides to keep a close eye on.

Chairman of the club Mike Robinson is delighted to have secured such a high quality field for the inaugural event.

"The fact that both the England and Wales management are sending teams is a real coup for Bury.

"It really puts us on the map and raises the profile of rugby in this region. Everyone in the area has the chance to see the sort of exciting, fast and exhilarating rugby that normally you only see at major tournaments. It is a fantastic opportunity for the club and all rugby supporters."

Bury's director of rugby and founder of Samurai Rugby Terry Sands thinks it will be a great opportunity to gain experience at the highest level.

Some of our local rugby players will find themselves competing against many of the country's best," said Sands, the former England Sevens manager.

"Everyone at the club is working hard to ensure this special day will be a success."

Phil Greening, a former England and British Lions hooker and England Sevens Captain, will be on hand to present the awards on Sunday. The winning team, which will take part in a series of pool matches before reaching the final, will pocket a cool £7,000 in prize money.

Bury St Edmunds RFC has currently been undergoing a £500,000 makeover, with the clubhouse, including the grandstand, effectively set to be twice the size it is now. There will also be more changing rooms, including those for children and women players, as well as an extended gym and improved facilities for the disabled. The club can already claim to have some of the best rugby facilities around in the country.

Robinson and Sands are hoping to tap in to the Bank Holiday crowd for the event with a large crowd expected with family fun in the shape of the kiddies bouncy castles, assault courses, ball pools, RAF helicopter. games and competitions, and fair rides.

Follow all the results from the various UK Bank Holiday tournaments only on UR7S- for Everything 7s.

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