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Robin Heymann

Similarly to the effect that Hong Kong has had on promoting International Sevens, the Middlesex Sevens, laced with tradition and prestige, is still regarded as the figurehead event of its kind in England.

This weekend sees 13-time winners Harlequins back to retain their crown in what has now become a major pre-cursor for the upcoming season.

So what’s the beef behind one of England’s best loved 7s tournaments?

Without wanting to go too deep into a tedious and boredom filled historical tutorial, it actually makes for some interesting reading to look at some of the key moments that built the tournament to what we see today.

Early days

Stemming from the growing momentum generated from the Border Sevens tournaments, the first Middlesex Sevens started back in 1926, with 50 clubs competing and the finals being held at Twickenham as an end of season celebration.

It was indeed the boys from down the road, Harlequins, who lifted the Russell-Cargill Memorial Trophy (named in recognition of a Scottish hospital doctor and member of the Middlesex RFU Committee) for the first time defeating St.Mary’s Hospital and starting a legacy for the club at the tournament.

The West Londoners took home the title for the first four years in succession with the likes of London Welsh, Blackheath, Richmond, and St. Marys Hospital also enjoying success.

In those early days the event had a bit of FA Cup third round day vibe, a day when David had the chance of slaying Goliath. Famous rugby educational hotbeds have caused upsets on the big Middlesex stage too with Cambridge University (1941), St Lukes College, Exeter (1957,1969) and Loughborough Colleges (1959,1964,1966,1970,1976) getting the better of the established old guard.

Changing Times

In the dawn of a professional era and in moving with the radically evolving rugby landscape, the tournament moved dates to August as a pre-season jamboree in 2001 instead of an end of term gig. With HQ increasingly becoming booked up with the likes of Premiership Grand Finals, London Sevens, County Finals, and the England/Baa-Baas game the change made sense.

The new streamlined set-up now sees every Premiership club at HQ with a small number of invited teams thrown into the mix too. The summoning in of ‘guest’ teams has given the tournament an exciting new dimension.

Perhaps the most radical and controversial move saw Rugby League’s Wigan Warriors turn out in 1996. With relations between rugby union and rugby league beginning to thaw it bought a different feel to the event with the tournament perhaps beginning to evolve from its champagne and smoked salmon aura.

Wigan bought an unbelievable line up with Henry Paul, Jason Robinson, Gary Connolly, Shaun Edwards, Martin Offiah, Andrew Farrell, Scott Quinnell, and Va'aiga Tuigamala bringing rich stardust to Twickenham.

They swept all before them in an exhilarating display of power, fitness, and clinical skills that saw off Lawrence Dallaglio’s Wasps 38-15 in the final. Fundamentally what it really provided was a glimpse and a marker to the other union teams of the standards expected in professional rugby with the game only just shedding its amateur status.
In 2002 it was Robbie Paul’s Bradford Bulls who rampaged their way to a win with Wasps again the team to suffer in the grand finale. This was made even more remarkable with the majority of the side having been hammered by St.Helens in a Super League fixture on the previous night!

Overseas sides spice things up

Another team that lit up Middlesex in bygone years were the Penguins, the globetrotting invitational side who celebrated their 40th anniversary back in 1999 with the ‘Golden Try’ win over a handy Saracens outfit. Led by the indomitable Waisale Serevi who UR7s columnist Nigel Starmer-Smith described at the time as possessing "pace, acceleration and the ability to beat three men in the space of a telephone kiosk.” The Middlesex Sevens has had it all.

“It has been going for over 80 years and so has a long established following, not all of whom have been around since the start,” said Brenda Hobday, the tournament’s organiser.

“But in recent years we are delighted to see the emergence of a new young audience, many of them new to rugby and Sevens makes a great introduction to the game.”

It’s not the first time that Fijian born players have enjoyed themselves here with the Army, led by that evergreen England International Howard Green, running out winners in 2001 and 2004. Teams from South Africa, Kenya, Italy, South America and New Zealand have all been seen at Middlesex in the last two decades too.

Charitable Deeds

There has even been full International teams that have been crowned champions with the old Western Samoa winning in 1992. There had been a hurricane on the tiny island that year, so an invitation was extended to the Pacific side and £50,000 was raised to help with the restoration of their damaged pitches and club-houses. This compassion has been a regular characteristic for the event throughout its reign, with it being billed as the ‘most famous rugby charity even in the world’.

Throughout its history there have been a number of beneficiaries of the event, including the Wavell Wakefield Rugby Union Youth Trust and the Middlesex County Rugby Football Union Memorial Fund. Currently, there are two Charities that benefit directly from the proceeds of the Middlesex Charity Sevens.

These are the PRA Benevolent Fund and the RFU Injured Player's Foundation. Two great charities that anyone who has witnessed the horrors of a catastrophic rugby injury can identify with.

This year one of the four invited teams trotting out on Saturday is a Help for Heroes VII, representing the charity that raises funds for wounded British soldiers who are serving in current conflicts.

It is a side that has already turned out at the Rosslyn Park Floodlit Sevens and were victorious under the stewardship of England coach Ben Ryan.

Ryan is in charge again come Saturday but in a unique move Wales and Scotland coaches Scott Gemmell and Paul John will assist him in overseeing the team that includes English, Scots, and Welsh players.

“It’s for a great cause and is good opportunity to have a look at new players play in a big event in a high profile 7s environment,” said Ryan.

Invitational and Premiership sides mixing

“It’s nice in a British Lions year to see us come together as one and it’s something we hope to do again going forward. It’s always difficult to get players released from their clubs for tournaments outside of the IRB Sevens, so combining forces with the Welsh and Scots makes sense,” added Ryan.

The makeup of the invited teams is arguably the most intriguing feature for this year’s tournament, with the regular names from the elite level 7s circuit, Army, Samurai International, and Twickenham debutants White Hart Marauders all drafted in.

“Last year we opened the competition up to include guest sides and this was very well received by the fans. So we decided to further extend the invitations to teams like Marauders and Samurai who include some very exciting 7s players who would not otherwise get to be seen at Twickenham,” said Hobday.

Several of the guest sides include International Sevens players, some of whom are 'unattached' and don’t play in the Premiership or for English clubs, so it’s a highly sensible move as they might not otherwise have the chance to play.

Fundamentally it’s a major plus for the UK 7s arena with the gap between the Premiership and Invitational scene beginning to narrow and an ideal showcase for the masses at HQ to learn more about and witness some of the top invitational 7s teams in the world. Throwing these ‘specialist’ sides in with up and coming Premiership stars makes for fascinating viewing.

Things are developing in Premiership circles also with regard to Sevens. This season saw the first National Academy Sevens which will continue a great tool for the players and especially people like Ben Ryan in getting a sighter on the next wave of talent.

“The Premiership Clubs have always been keen on Sevens as part of player development. Sevens is a game for emerging players so the National Academy 7s is a natural step for the clubs,” added Hobday.

Ryan, not surprisingly, is a huge fan of the Academy event which helps bridge the gap in age groups when it comes to the shortened form and another opportunity other then Middlesex to look at decent 7s talent hidden in Club Rugby. With youngsters forced into highly conditioned and strict regimes in their clubs from a young age, the 7s arena is an environment that allows them to be creative and to express themselves as the quality players they obviously already are.

Most open for years?

And as for predictions for Saturday - well that’s a tough one. All four invitational sides will be tough to beat but looking at the first round draw anything is possible. Defending champions Harlequins are back and although their final cut isn’t finalised with an effervescent Danny Care and David Strettle in their ranks they will be a major threat to Howard Graham and Craig Hill and the rest of the White Hart Marauders.

The make-up of the Samurai team is also undecided although by all accounts Kenya’s superb brothers in arms, Humphrey Kayange and Collins Injera’s, appearances have been finalised. With Friday and Lydon leading them they are in good hands and don’t be surprised to see them go the distance.

The Army have slowly been monopolising some of the UK’s big tournaments this season and with a young Bath against them in the 1st round they can start building up a decent head of steam. Leicester Tigers won the Academy Sevens at the end of last season so have certainly got promise but look out for London Irish.

They have named some familiar 1st XV names with the likes of Salosi Tagicakibau, Paul Hodgson, Steffon Armitage, Peter Richards, Nick Kennedy and the precocious Sam Edgerley all supposedly included. Wasps’ Christian Wade and Gloucester’s Jonny May are guys that will keep the expectant crowd on their toes.

Making a day of it

So why do the crowds and Middlesex Fans keep coming back?

The popularity and atmosphere of the Sevens, particularly pre-1996 stemmed from the qualifying tournament which attracted hundreds of entries from junior clubs and old boys teams. It provided a great chance for London’s rugby faithful to celebrate the end of the season. As well as proving popular with the more traditional rugby folk still, it has opened its arms to the fancy dress, music, and young vibe that the IRB Sevens can cater for.

“Sevens is such a great game for both newcomers to the game and seasoned supporters. Its fast and furious with lots of tries and a great way to spend an afternoon with rugby friends in the sunshine!” added Hobday.

Similarly to the London Sevens one cannot under-estimate the ‘Twickenham factor’ in bringing in the masses. The event seems to have struck the right balanced chord with everyone concerned and Hobday is convinced the tournament won’t rest on their laurels and will continue to progress.

“We are continually reviewing the format for the Middlesex Sevens to make it as entertaining as possible for the fans. The cost of bringing international teams over can be prohibitively high but we've recently been investigating some sponsorship avenues that might allow us to bring overseas teams in for the future - watch this space.

“We want to make the rugby as exciting and entertaining as possible and raise as much as we can for the charities involved.”