THE 67th running of the Old Penarthians Seven-a-Side tournament took place on Saturday, May 14 at Cwrt-y-vil Playing Fields and true to form the sun shone, the crowds turned up and the sevens was of the highest quality.

The organisers under the chairmanship of Jo Vaughan had planned everything as usual and the behind the scenes volunteers should be congratulated for the seamless running of the event.

What was not in the control of the organisers however was the number of teams that were due to participate in the tournament. This year the entrant numbers had been reduced to 12 because the extension of the league playing season by the WRU made it difficult for potential teams to assemble the players and this was further compounded by the non-appearance of two teams on the day of the event.

The tournament therefore went ahead, for only the second time in the event’s history, on the basis of an initial group stage followed by the winners progressing to the latter stages of the cup competition and the second placed teams entering the plate competition.

The day started with an exhibition match of Tag Rugby played between teams of under-7s and under-8s of the Old Penarthians Mini and Junior Section under the watchful eyes of their coaches and parents and many spectators who were impressed with the skill levels of these young players. It is hoped that one day these players will appear in the tournament.

The competition started on time with ever present team and hosts, Old Penarthians entertaining tournament newcomers Scorpions Rugby, a side drawn from the upper divisions of the Welsh Rugby Union league system. It was obvious from the start that the team were going to be highly fancied as they turned a 12 point half-time advantage into a final score of 36-0.

This match was followed on the main pitch by last year’s winners, Voyagers, playing against Pursuit Warriors, a team of Fijian rugby players based in England and Wales who come together to play sevens rugby. The team has appeared at the tournament previously in the guises of the Covenant Brothers and Breakthrough and as has become the norm they lost their initial encounter by 29 points to 14.

Pursuit Warriors did however defeat English visitors Corsham in their other group match and with Corsham also losing to Voyagers the two favoured teams progressed. The Corsham team did however bring the most visiting supporters but they could not inspire their team to victory and although they undoubtedly enjoyed their day in the sun it was a long and tiring bus journey home.

In Group B three teams contested the matches to determine who progressed and it was the unfortunate Hen Fois y Fro representing former students of Ysgol Bro Morgannwg who were eliminated, losing both their games to Wales Fire Service and Damn Daniel. The Damn Daniel team was under the captaincy of local player Chris Poole and he was instrumental in making the match against the Wales Fire Service the best in the group stages in an exciting contest that eventually saw the Fire Service win by 35 points to 31.

The absence of the two teams meant that the early matches were limited and there was a gap in the programme but it did not seem to dampen the spirits of the supporters and in particular those enjoying the hospitality of Neil Warren and his band of helpers in the half-way marquee. And for the younger supporters there was always the bouncy castle to occupy their time.

The plate semi-finals featured Old Penarthians against Wales Fire Service and Pursuit Warriors against St Josephs. The first match was a tense affair with neither side dominating and Old Penarthians should probably have won the match in regulation time when two try scoring opportunities were squandered and Jonathan Crimp was held up by a fine tackle after he had crossed the try line.

Gareth Clancy defied his age by marshalling his troops and the experience of Stuart Clarke, Charles Gore and Alex Thau was supported by the youth of Matt Allen and Luke Crockett. It was however 12 points all at the final whistle and an extra time shoot out for the first scorer was won by the Fire Service to send them to the plate final.

There they were to meet Pursuit Warriors who edged a physical encounter with St Josephs by 33 points to 31. St Josephs did in fact score a try just as full-time approached and a conversion from wide out would have sent this match into extra time as well but it was missed and the honours went to the Fijians.

The plate final did not however live up to the excitement of the previous round and it was a fairly straight forward victory to Pursuit Warriors.

The first semi-final of the cup competition saw the 2015 winners, Voyagers, up against five time tournament winners, Glan Taf Goats. Both squads were somewhat depleted when compared to other years but it was still an entertaining match that was won by Voyagers. The other semi-final featured two new teams to the tournament and it was the more experienced players within the Scorpions squad that won the encounter by 40 points to seven over Damn Daniel.

The final of the cup competition was therefore contested by the best two teams at the tournament who were both unbeaten. In fact the first half proved this point with the teams sharing possession and scoring opportunities in an evenly contested period that saw Scorpions hold a narrow lead of 14 points to five at the break. The second half was however dominated by Scorpions who seemed to have an additional player in space at the critical times who always had the pace to make the most of the opportunity on offer. Voyagers did score a second half try but it was more of a consolation as Scorpions ran out winners by 42 points to 12 to prove themselves worthy champions.

After the match the presentations were made to the winning and losing finalists of the plate and main cup competitions by Old Penarthians chairman Jon Vaughan. Jon also presented the Man of the Tournament to Elliot Frewin of Scorpions who plies his trade in the 15-man game for Newport RFC.

This is the second time he has won this trophy, which he initially won playing for Kratos Titans. Another strong contender for his performances throughout the day was his team mate Sam Evans who won award in 2015.

Group Results

Group A: Pursuit Warriors 14, Voyagers 29; Corsham 10, Voyagers 40; Pursuit Warriors 40, Corsham 7

Group B: Damn Daniel 35, Hen Fois y Fro 7; Welsh Fire Service 31 Hen Fois-y-Fro 10; Damn Daniel 31, Welsh Fire Service 35

Group C: Glan Taf Goats 17, St Josephs 0

Group D: Old Penarthians 0, Scorpions 35;

Plate semi-finals: Old Penarthians 12, Wales Fire Service 17 (aet); Pursuit Warriors 33, St Josephs 31

Plate final: Wales Fire Service 24, Pursuit Warriors 40

Cup semi-finals: Glan Taf Goats 5, Voyagers 35, Scorpios 40, Damn Daniel 7

Cup final: Voyagers 12, Scorpions 42