Staffordshire 7s Tournament, Final Leg – County Town of Stafford
The final leg of the Staffordshire 7s saw the tournament swing into the County Town for a warm afternoon of rugby. Twelve teams turned out to support the day, with the most international of these being “Breakthrough” – a guest side of Fijians lead by ex-Stafford player Alex Yamoyamo.
The anticipated draw was made and the teams formed up into their separate pools:
Pool A: Breakthrough, Newcastle, Stunts
Pool B: Cannock, Eccleshall, Stafford B
Pool C: Burntwood, Gnosall, Stafford A
Pool D: Barbarians, Essington, Rugeley
The quality of the rugby was high and after a hotly contested series of pool games, the scores were totalled and the teams channelled to contest the prizes on offer.
The Beer Cup
In a battle for the most prestigious prize of the day, the semi-final of the beer cup saw Stunts lined up against Stafford B, with Gnosall coming up against the Barbarians. Two games later and it was a Stunts vs Gnosall final. The newly reformed Gnosall fought hard, giving a good account of themselves, but couldn’t match the strength of some surging Stunts 7s rugby. The first result of the afternoon was Stunts victorious in the beer cup.
The Plate
After just failing to make it through to the cup semi-final, Cannock, Eccleshall, Essington and Burntwood formed up to contest the plate. A furious set of clashes saw Essington and Burntwood grabbing the victory and advancing to the final. In another fast paced game Burntwood just found the edge against a worthy Essington performance. The second result of the afternoon was Burntwood victorious in the plate.
The Cup
The cup quarter final saw Breakthrough, Cannock, Newcastle, Eccleshall, Stafford A, Essington, Burntwood and Rugeley lining up for a chance at the main prize. The first set of semi-finals produced a game of exciting rugby as Newcastle showed their form to vanquish a quality Rugeley display. The second set of semi-finals was a bruising encounter between Stafford A and Breakthrough, the South Pacific Islanders coming out on top, but the Stafford 7s squad deserving to hold their heads high after a fighting game of rugby. The cup semi-final produced some of the most exciting rugby of the afternoon. After taking an early lead through three tries Breakthrough looked to have the match sewn up, but a tenacious Newcastle clawed their way back into the game and the full time whistle heralded extra time. With the golden try rule invoked the Fijian 7 ramped up the pace and, despite some heroic defence, Newcastle couldn’t find the depth to stop Breakthrough from crossing the line. The third result of the afternoon was Breakthrough victorious in the cup.