This weekend saw Banff Rugby Club hosted the Kenway Tyres Charity Sevens at Duff House Grounds in Banff. This year’s tournament was raising funds to support Gastrcan and the RLNI Teams from across the north east journeyed to Banff to enjoy the spring sun in both a men’s and ladies tournament.
After a couple of late call off the men’s tournament involved teams from Banff, Kinloss Eagles, Gordonians, Garioch, Fraserburgh and an local invitational side the “Hoy Ni Ba Bas” from the start the weather was in the favour of running rugby with the sun shining and a cool breeze allowing teams to play the quality of rugby the shorted game deserved.
The competition was spilt into a round robin format, with Gordonian and the Kinloss Eagles showing their class at the shorted game. Banff were also able to throw the ball freely and were able to shock local rivals Garioch into an early defeat using powerful running and backs plays to carve up the defence.
After each team had competed in there round robin games this lead onto the playoff semi finals deciding the cup finalist. The Banffshire men took on the might of the Army from Kinloss, narrowly missing out losing in the closing minutes 5 tries to 4. During the other semi, Hoy Ni Ba Bas, a team who’s history stretched back a whole 3 hours, took on an experienced Gordonians side who used the width of the pitch to good effect, although there was a glimmer of hope as the Babas began to punch holes through the centre of the Aberdeen men, unfortunately this was snuffed out as the Gordonian men progressed to the cup final.
Next on the agenda, was the plate final, this would see Banff face the Champaign styles of the Hoy Ni Ba Bas. With both side fairly evenly matched it was the Banff that would ultimately seal the win and bring back the silverware to the club house.
In the final it was a cagier affair, with Gordonians and Kinloss Eagles looking to continue their good run during the day. With both teams confident and eager to play with ball in hand it was a joy to watch, Gordonains and Kinloss used the width of the pitch and the pace of the players to move each other about the pitch. In the end Gordonians were victorious.
The ladies would also welcome to Howe of Fife and Aberdeenshire ladies to Duff House, to compete in Banff’s first ever ladies 7s competition. Over the course of the day there was 3 games played allowing all of the players to get some experience on the pitch. Although lacking in some experience the Banffshire ladies fronted up to the challenge and put their training into practice with some thunderous tackles and delicate runs. Unfortunately Howe’s experience so showed. More importantly the Banff ladies enjoyed the experience and are now looking forward to their next game.
Special thanks go to the officials Fraser Anderson, George Whitecross, Dave Marshall and Jamieson Shearer who gave their time to referee both competitions. Banff RFC would also like to thank all of the supports, teams and back ground staff that all helped to make the day possible.
Another special mention goes to our sevens sponsor, Kenway Tyres for their long term sponsorship of both the sevens and Banff Rugby Club.
Separate Ladies and gents training continues at Duff house grounds on Tuesday and Thursday, 7 pm on Tuesdays for both and 6:30 for ladies and 7pm for the men on Thursday if you want to give rugby a “try” regardless your experience.