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A Buccaneers selection captured the inaugural Midlands Sevens tournament played in perfect weather at Dubarry Park, Athlone, on Saturday.

Buccs 1 proved too strong for a gallant Castlebar outfit at the end of an entertaining day of Sevens Rugby.

Special credit must go to Alex Hayman for organising this event and, as club President Ray Duffy stated at the post-final presentations, "out of little acorns do big oaks grow", it is certainly an idea that can be built on.

With other Irish Sevens tournaments such as the Munster Meteor Sevens going on this weekend the scene is certainly growing in Ireland, and they will help the sport in preparation for 2016.

Should Rugby Sevens get into these Olympics, Ireland will have to go it alone whereas Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be able to combine forces.

The response from some of the visiting sides was that, while Sevens is traditionally an end of season competition, this tournament proved helpful in improving their squads fitness and handling skills.

In the early pool matches, Buccs 1 and Castlebar looked the strongest outfits while a youthful Mullingar also looked a threat.

But it was Castlebar and Buccs 1 who reached the final and the hosts came from behind to head into half-time 21-12 – all their tries coming from Marcus Madden taking his tournament tally to 11.

They went on to score 17 unanswered second-half points, with the remaining tries coming from Alex Hayman, Sean Stapleton and Kent McIntyre, while Fintan Casey and Paul Yeoung scored for Castlebar.

The hosts took all the silverware at the tournament as Buccs 2, or Cardiac Arrest as they were named for the day, emerged victorious from the Plate final.

Overall, the tournament was played in a most sporting manner and here plaudits go not only to the players and mentors but also to the match officials who too were getting an early run-out.