Developing Rugby Nations – All India Senior National 7s Tournament

The 2013 All India Senior National 7s Tournament organized by the Jammu & Kashmir Rugby Association (JKRA) in association with the J&K State Sports Council and under the aegis of the IRFU was held at the Bakhshi Stadium in Srinagar, J&K from 23rd to 25th August, 2013.

The tournament featured a total of 20 teams from across the country – Bombay Gym, Jungle Crows, Delhi Hurricanes, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Goa Magicians, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Maharashtra State Police, Mumbai Police, Andaman, Kerala, and hosts J&K contributed 2 teams.

The tournament was also a platform for identifying and selecting players to join the Indian National 7s training camp in preparation for the upcoming HSBC Asian Sevens Series in Thailand and Mumbai.

The top 12 teams were grouped together as core teams and split in 3 pools of 4 teams each while the remaining 8 teams were split in 2 pools of 4 teams each for the league stages. Post the league games the core teams were ranked 1 to 12 and the balance 8 teams were ranked from 13 to 20.

Thereafter, the top 8 ranked teams qualified for the CUP, the next 8 for the BOWL and the remaining for the JUG. Team s losing in the CUP and BOWL quarter-finals proceeded to the PLATE & SHIELD competition, respectively.

The Knock-out stages of the tournament witnessed some fierce competition as teams battled for top glory.

The CUP Semi-Finals saw defending champions Delhi Hurricanes crush Bombay Gym 33-5 and Jungle Crows overpower Orissa 26-7.

Having lost by a whisker to Orissa 12-10 in the CUP Quarter-finals, hosts J&K edged past Goa Magicians 14-7 to secure their place in the PLATE Finals against the Maharashtra State Police team (MSP).

While Mumbai Police proved too strong for Uttar Pradesh in the SHIELD Final – beating them 33-5 – the other finals were closely contested.

The BOWL and PLATE Final saw spirited performances from Kerala (beating CRPF 14-7) & J&K (beating MSP 17-12) to secure wins and take home their first ever silverware. The 3rd & 4th Playoff match saw a young and relentless Orissa upset the experienced Bombay Gym 14-10.

In the CUP Final, the finesse and speed of the young Jungle Crows earned them an early 12 point lead against favourites Delhi Hurricanes. However, the experience of the Hurricanes paid off as the match went down to the wire when they levelled scores at 12-12.

It was only nerves that separated the two teams from winning and losing – an error on the part of the young Crows proved too costly as the defending champions capitalized on it and secured a 19-12 win to retain their crown.

All in all, the tournament, set in the picturesque and beautiful Kashmir, showcased some electric rugby action as all teams performed to their best… with rugby being the ultimate winner!