Review - The Premiership 7's

Over the past two weeks the 2014 Premiership Rugby 7s Series has swept across the country showcasing a wealth of talent.

After four rounds of group stages eight clubs: Cardiff Blues, Gloucester Rugby, Harlequins, Newcastle Falcons, Newport Gwent Dragons, Leicester Tigers, London Irish and Northampton Saints all headed to the Twickenham Stoop for the Final.

Undeterred by the summer showers the pre-tournament favourites and 2013 champions Gloucester romped to victory with clinical wins over the Northampton, Cardiff and the Newport Gwent Dragons. Coach Olly Morgan was ecstatic with his side’s determination and composure throughout and didn’t underplay the significance of the win for the club as a whole:

"It's a huge achievement for the club to get the first piece of silverware of the season. Whether it was back-to-back or not it didn't really matter, it's the fact that it's a new management, a new set-up and new players and hopefully this sets us up for a successful season.”

Morgan’s sentiments were echoed by the Man of the Series Henry Purdy who summed up the win for the players when he said: “We wanted to make an impact, it is the first time for anyone to put on a Gloucester shirt this season and we wanted to set the tone and I hope we’ve done that.”

Gloucester now progress forward to the World Club 7s along with the home side Harlequins. ‘Quins lost their Cup semi-final; however, due to the fact that the Cardiff Blues are representing Wales and Gloucester are already scheduled to play in the tournament they earned the final spot in the forthcoming event.

Elsewhere in the tournament the Leicester Tigers and London Irish battled it out for the Plate honours after dismissing Northampton Saints and the Newcastle Falcons in their respective semi-finals.

The East Midlands Derby was filled with the intensity and emotion that you expect to see between the two sides and the Falcons pushed a young Irish side all the way before running out of steam. The Plate Final itself was a one-sided affair with Geordan Murphy’s Tigers clinically dismantling the Exiles 17 points to nil.

However, London Irish shouldn’t be too despondent as coaches Nick Kennedy, Declan Danaher and Paul Hodgson have plenty of talent to work with in their ranks in particular young Jonny Williams who showed exactly why he is being tipped for great things by everyone at the London club.

The Premiership 7s is a great shop window for the Director of Rugby at all of the Premiership clubs; it is a place where academy and even first team contracts can be secured and that is a huge incentive for the players.  Under the deluge of summer rain all eight sides’ showcased outstanding skills and tenacity and to a man every player delivered and put in performances that did themselves and their desire for the game justice.

In this 2014 Finals Tournament the known face, and indeed feet, of Harlequins’ Ollie Lindsey-Hague impressed as always; however, it was the new talents of his team mate Jordan Burns, Gloucester’s Steph Reynolds and Henry Purdy and Newcastle’s Tom Catterick that turned the most heads. The inclusion of the Welsh regions for the first time added to what was already a competitive competition and its place in the player development ladder shouldn’t be underestimated.  

Following such a successful domestic competition the Sevens’ spotlight now shifts to the World Club 7s at Twickenham Stadium on 16^th and 17^th August.

Gloucester, Harlequins and the Cardiff Blues will fly the home nations’ flags and compete over two days against some of the world’s best. As a whole Sevens continues to raise its profile and engage more and more spectators, the smaller and more expansive version of the XVs game is a joy to watch and with the countdown to Rio 2016 it is competitions like the Premiership 7s and World Club 7s where medal winners and fresh talent will be found.

Premiership 7s Finals Results

Quarter Final 1: Cardiff Blues 19 vs. Leicester Tigers 14

Quarter Final 2: Gloucester Rugby 50 vs. Northampton Saints 5

Quarter Final 3: Harlequins 26 vs. London Irish 10

Quarter Final 4: Newport Gwent Dragons 12 vs. Newcastle Falcons 10

 

Plate Semi Final: Leicester Tigers 21 vs. Northampton Saints 12

Plate Semi Final: London Irish 12 vs. Newcastle Falcons 5

 

Cup Semi Final: Gloucester Rugby 24 vs. Cardiff Blues 14

Cup Semi Final: Harlequins 15 vs. Newport Gwent Dragons 19

 

Plate Final: Leicester Tigers 17 vs. London Irish 0

Cup Final: Gloucester Rugby 12 vs. Newport Gwent Dragons 5