• • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Stumble Upon
  • Furl

The Olorun Sharks regained their Stockholm Tens crown at the weekend, beating the Bootleggers in the main Men’s Tournament.

The weather Gods smiled on Stockholm over the weekend with 40 teams from a dozen countries braving the credit crunch to ensure a couple of days of excellent rugby.

The Men´s tournament saw a number of teams appearing for the first time along with regulars the Olorun Sharks, a combined English team, determined to avenge their defeat in the final last year. The Ladies had a more established appearance with a strong Nordic base, but the Moody Cows and the German development squad were expected to do well.

With six pools of four, the Men's went more or less according to seeding with the Sharks, Kukri Badgers and the Bootleggers all going through comfortably. Teamlink Titans proved a surprise package beating home favourites Hammarby.

The Spanish Chics also just came through in a narrow win over the host club, Stockholm Exiles. The two best losers, Hammarby and Agence Tourisme, completed the quarter finalists of the Cup.

The Chics gained a black mark for failing to show on day two, citing multiple inuries, giving the Sharks a clear passage to the semis. There they were joined by the Titans, Bootleggers and Badgers.

The wheels came off for the Titans in the semi finals however and the Sharks strolled to an easy win. In the other semi, the young Bootleggers, based on Exeter University, just beat the Badgers who themselves were made up of players from London Scottish RFC.

In the final it was a case of whether the Sharks could recover their title or would the Bootleggers go better than their quarter final the year before? The match hung in the balance for 15 minutes, with the Bootleggers holding on to an early lead until the Sharks equalised just on half time.

The Bootleggers continued to have the upper hand, but the Sharks defence held out and two breakaway tries towards the end gave them yet another victory. Top international refereee, Wayne Barnes once again officiated.

The Plate tournament was closely fought too with some of the new teams showing up well. A sluggish Exiles just got the better of the colourful Texan Tigers, who possessed some strong American football credentials. Exiles raised their game to get to the final where they beat the Phantoms with a bit to spare.

Finally, the Bowl was won by the Norwegians from Bergen, who just got home 19-17 against the Mighty Twos, Exiles' second team.

The Ladies pools, four of three, threw up a few surprises. Home team Attila just beat Enköping while XV-a-side champions Gothenburg were no match for Exiles. The Horny Bulls, a Swedish-English combo continued to show their good form from the year before while established tourists, the Moody Cows and the Germans also looked good.

When it got down to the semis, the German development squad won 24-12 against the courageous Horny Bulls and Exiles showed outstanding form to see off the Cows 22-0.

The final was a tense affair with the Germans running away to an early lead but Exiles, beginning to suffer from injuries, got back to 12-10. It could have gone either way, but the Germans, whose development squad looked remarkably similar to the German VII-a-side team which came fourth in the European championships three weeks ago, just held on.

In the Plate tournament, Bergen Bitches rounded off a successful weekend for their club by beating Trojan, as well as taking the Fair Play trophy, voted for by the referees.

The Old Boys final saw Exiles again meeting the South Pacific Masters and once more the Masters just held out a little bit longer.

The Mabon brothers confirmed that the 18th version of the Tens will take place at the beginning of August 2010.