Sunday 3 March 2019

Double for Epsom College

After a fallow year in 2018 courtesy of the ‘Beast from the East’ – the annual Hiscox Reigate Charity 7s returned with a bang on Sunday 3 March 2019 at RGS Hartswood. With new additions to the lineup (Wellington College/ Bryanston and Sevenoaks to highlight just a few) the standard of teams in attendance was of the highest quality.

We were delighted to welcome former England star and current England 7s Assistant Coach John Brake as our special guest for the afternoon. John was casting a keen eye on the rugby talent on show and spent the break in fixtures answering questions at the Headmasters VIP lunch, chatting about his career in rugby since leaving Millfield in 2005 and his current day to day role as part of the England set up.

This year marks five years since the launch of our important social mobility Changing Lives campaign and the tournament plays a vital part in generating awareness, looking to the future and raising funds for a worthwhile cause, we are delighted to announce that over £12,000 was raised this year. Thank you to everyone that supported us.

Out on the pitches, the weather once again played a significant part in proceedings with players, coaches and supporters experiencing wet and windy conditions throughout the day. Even with the inclement weather, the standard of rugby on show, across both tournaments, was magnificent.

Epsom College were ‘School of the day’ winning both the Boys & Girls Main Cup Tournaments. The Boys marched on through the elimination stages of the cup knocking out Wellington, Whitgift and Brighton College in the final without conceding a single point – quite an achievement!  The Girls continued this impressive defensive record by beating Wellington and Reigate Grammar School in a similar fashion, taking home the trophy with a 31-0 victory over RGS, along with some delightfully muddy kit.

In the remaining boys tournaments, Hampton took home the Plate beating Wimbledon College 38-7, whilst Reed’s overcame Felsted 14-5 in the Shield with newcomers Reading Blue Coat overpowering Berkhamsted 14-10 in a closely contested Bowl Final.

The Girls tournament had to take a slightly different approach than the one planned for the afternoon, due to some last minute pullouts. Each team progressed from their group into a Cup, Plate & Shield round-robin group of three. With league points accumulated, the winners of each group were crowned Champions of the three main competitions. Wisbech sat top of the tree in the Plate league winning both of their games with the same going for Oundle who remained undefeated in the Shield.

The Kukri Players of the Tournament, as voted for by the Referees, were the very impressive:

• Henry D – Brighton College
• Grace C – Epsom College

Our enormous thanks go to Hiscox as Principal Sponsor of the day and in particular Richard Watson (RGS 1976-1981) for his advocacy. We would also like to thank Return2Play, our Official Medical Partner, who ensured that all tournament medical needs and queries were dealt with swiftly and professionally. They are doing great work in the important field of concussion management and Dr Sam Barke, R2P Medical Director, recently featured on BT Sport’s Rugby Tonight show talking about this very subject. See video here. We would also like to thank Kukri for their continued support as Official Kit Supplier for the RC7s with their range of high quality bespoke, performance designs.

CLICK HERE to view and buy photos from the RC7s Official Photographer – Rob Sambles.