Swaffham RUFC

Swaffham’s Sevens tournament was once more blessed with perfect sevens rugby weather at the weekend as 12 teams from Norfolk and Cambrigeshire battled it out for the Playmore Cup and prizes worth over £500. The eventual winners were Easton College who beat the Oxfam Boyce Crusaders 43-33 in a thrilling final to claim a £300 kit voucher. Third and fourth places went to Wymondham and Swaffham Refreshers, whilst the Plate competition, and £150 worth of Playmore kit was won by Narford Barbarians after they beat Cheeks RFC 21-17. Cheeks had been the reigning champions and were hoping to retain the title but the standard of the competition this year was much higher and also included teams from Wisbech,Thetford and Norwich Union. The Bowl competition was deservedly won by a team from Fakenham after they defeated Watton 25-10 in a good spirited game to entertain the large crowd.
Swaffhams Refreshers side fared well with little practice, but their participation ended in the Cup semi-finals. Having scored 95 points with no reply in their first two games they were finally beaten in the last pool game by the Oxfam Boyce Crusaders by 33-19 before losing to the eventual winners Easton College, by 31-14, earning them fourth place overall.
The Saxons did not do quite as well and with several call offs early in the day depleting the Swaffham squad, it was the Saxon side which suffered most. Their group also contained the Cup Winners and Plate winners which gave them an uphill climb from the beginning.
The tournament was also an opportunity for the recently formed Breckland Barbarians to try out their new Hydratech shirts in a 15-a-side Vets challenge against West Norfolk and Norwich Union. The Barbarians consisted of players from Swaffham,Watton and Dereham and they ended the day having won three games and lost one. Each of these games were 20 minutes long, which in the warm weather was plenty for the old boys!
The day was a great success overall and now the decision has to be made about how to improve for next year.Photos HERE
Much of the hard work preparing for the day was done by a small band of helpers on the Friday which included Hammy Snr, Stretch ,Spike, Scooby,Mick Barnard and Colin Scott. Thanks go to the Norfolk Referees who gave up their time, Cameron Wood and Mike Leary for their assistance in the Medics tent and Simon Wood for his work on the video camera. However I would like to say a huge “thank you” to the main helpers on the day, Stu Buckingham, James Moreton, Karen Nye and Kev Bayne without whose help the event would not have run smoothly.