Back from the streets of Wan Chai in Hong Kong and straight into the UK and European seasons.

We in the UR7s office are heading far and wide across the UK at various Easter tournaments to play and promote this wonderful sport. 

That’s we do at UR7s. We cover the big stuff and promote the little’uns too equally.

One weekend I’m part of 35,000 fans at the one of most revered sporting spectacles on the planet and the next I’m down in Devon in the South West of England in the mud with a bunch of mates at a local ‘man and a dog’ Sevens tournament. Love it.

Biggest season yet?

Over the next few months the UK is crammed full of Sevens.

It’s very exciting time to be involved with the sport and could be the most memorable domestic season yet.
This Easter weekend marks the start of Sevens in the UK with historic tournaments like the Pock Sevens in Yorkshire again set to feature on Good Friday. France might be not be haven for Sevens tournaments but it is good to see the second running of the Stanislas Sevens in Nancy.

Les Bleus are of course the team to beat but sides like Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Netherlands also on show. Let us hope other tournaments in France start rearing their heads...I’m not holding out hope in the short-term though.

We’ve also only got 74 days till the National Series in the UK gets cracking. First we have Rugby Rocks in London (June 12) then its West Country (June 19), Manchester (July 4), and Newquay (July 17). Lots more on these in the coming weeks...

Astounding work ethic

Can’t not really mention Hong Kong on this blog. You can’t help just loving that place. 

Samoa was victorious taking their third in-a-row on this season’s IRB Sevens. There were lots of similarities in Samoa’s win to Fiji’s 2009 win in So Kon Poh. They didn’t do much on day 1 and just timed their run perfectly on the final day, by just doing enough. What makes me think this has to be their year?

The fact that they are now winning games without playing their best. Sure sign of a quality team. Their win over New Zealand in the final demonstrated their heart and at times bloody-minded stubbornness. Winning is a nice habit and hard to get out of.

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens calls it ‘emptying the tank’. It’s the pre-requisite and sacrifices he demands from his players by the time his players walk off a Sevens pitch.

I don’t know what the equivalent expression is in Samoan, but coach Hong Kong’s winning coach Stephen Betham looks like he adheres to a similar philosophy.
Sunday’s final was exhausting to watch, let alone play in.

Shattered players were forced to ground at times over the 20 intriguing minutes. Samoa’s incredible and tireless forward pack that just never seem to stop.

I just love watching Simaika Mikaele play, even when he was on his last knees he had that wonderful smile on his face. Let’s not forget DJ Forbes in this. More of a snarler on the pitch then his Samoan counterparts, but the yards he covered on the pitch was phenomenal.

A ridiculous appetite for work. With two three-day tournaments back to back in Adelaide and Hong Kong the scheduling seems pretty tough on the teams. From conversations I had with IRB’s Tournament Operations Manager, Beth Coalter, it is something that will be looked and analysed at the end of the season. 

Action packed Tens

This year I managed to get in HK in time for the Tens competition which runs in the days leading up to main weekend’s festivities. The Hong Kong Football Clubs plays host and is a beautiful setting in the heart of the city and a sporting venue steeped with history.

The likes of Aliens, Samurai, Penguins, NZ legends all possessed some hugely talented players predominately from New Zealand. One player who really got the crowd going was Borneo Eagle’s Ritchie Ah Chong. Pace to burn mixed with incredible footwork. A player that UR7s will certainly be keeping their eye on.

The boys from Cardiff University gave the tournament that social feel, with their ‘tour’ haircuts a now traditional and entertaining feature. It certainly made them recognisable in the South Stand and Lockhart Road, where they spent the majority of their hours for the rest of the weekend. Let’s just say they would have returned to the UK broken individuals. Who doesn’t in Hong Kong...