Cwmtawe 7s - 4-5 Aug 07
East Grinstead Sunshine Charity Sevens - 29 Ar 07

Cwmtawe 7s - Army 7s parade another title
4-5 August 2007 - Wales

(Extracts from the Welsh Western Mail)

The British Army Sevens team won their third Cwmtawe Sevens title on Saturday 4 Aug when they resisted the strong challenge of the Kooga Wailers in the final to run out narrow 26-22 winners at Pontardawe. This was sweet revenge for the Army as they were beaten in the Semi-finals of the Roma sevens by the same outfit in June. In a high-quality game of thrust and counter thrust, the sides shared eight tries but the Army's three successful conversions by their outstanding captain Major Howard Graham (AGC) against the one by the Wailers was just enough to claim the title.

The Wailers - alias Newcastle Falcons Academy - were always in touch throughout, with centre Alex Tait, brother of England centre Matthew, looking a talent in their midfield.

But the expertise and experience of the Army under ex-England 7s skipper Graham and the calmness of Fijian 7s star Pte Apolisi Satala (1 Scots) in tight situations won the day in as close a final as Cwmtawe has seen for some years.

Tries from Satala, LCpl Ledua Jope (RE) Pte Filipe Tawayaga (3 Scots) and the flying Pte Maika Burenivalu (3 Yorks) were answered by efforts from Luke Fielding, Gareth Kerr, Scott Riddell and Mark Bedworth, only for the conversions to prove crucial. Howard Graham was awarded the 'Player of the Tournament' by the organising committee and received his award from Ex International Welsh referee Derek Bevan.

Everyone at Cwmtawe had been expecting an Army v Samurai final, but the Samurais, in search of their fourth title, were turned over in the quarter-final by a wonderful effort from a young Llanelli side, admirably led by Wales sevens captain Jonathan Edwards.

In the tensest of quarter-finals the Samurais, with three English sevens internationals in Rob Thirlby, Russell Earnshaw and Simon Hunt and two Welsh internationals in Gareth Williams and Nick Wakely, led 19-12.

It looked as if they would scrape home, only for Llanelli first to catch them with an Edwards try and Rhys O. Williams conversion and then get the winner at the death from the ever-busy Lee Williams.

In another terrific quarter-final, Neath all but beat the eventual winners.

Under the interested gaze of Wales sevens team manager Lt Col Dai Jenkins (AGC), tries from new signings Dafydd Lockyer and Howard Thomas plus another from the evergreen Arwel Thomas against one from LCpl Jim Tuitubou (SDG) had the All Blacks 17-5 up with two minutes remaining.

But the Army rode the intensity of the Neath tackling to squeeze home late on with two tries from their quickie, Burenivalu, and one from Spr Peceli Nacamavuto (RE).

In the two other quarter-finals, the Welsh Wizards, beat the Young Ospreys 39-24, and the Kooga Wailers over ran Mel's Exiles 43-0.

The semi-finals were close-run affairs, with the Army scraping home 14-12 after the Wizards had scored 2 well worked tries and the Kooga Wailers beating Llanelli 12-7.

Overall this season has been a period of renewal and discovery for the Army Sevens squad. A total of 23 players have been used over 5 tournaments, which is a much greater turn over of players than any coach would wish to have. It has been a case of needs must, with most of the 'established' players unavailable due to injury, Ops and overseas exercises & tours, a good number of 'unknowns' have staked their claim for a permanent position. This can only be good for Army rugby and the management team will continue to look for new talent next season. The season started on a winning high at the East Grinstead Sunshine Sevens with a very fresh faced squad, followed by two Semi-Final finishes firstly in Ledbury against the Welsh National squad who showed their class in the IRB sevens at Twickenham the next week and then in Rome in June. A disappointing Qtr-Final loss in Worthing two weeks ago focused the minds for the finale of the season which culminated in the fine win against top level opposition at Cwmtawe.

Cwmtawe7s website

Posted: 13 Aug 07

East Grinstead Sunshine Charity Sevens'
Sunday 29 April 2007 - Winners - British Army

A New Coach, a New Manager, a New Team….. On Friday 27 April a mix of some old and a majority of new talent were gathered together in Aldershot with the mission of being selected for the team that would represent the Army for at least the first 2 tournaments of the season. This group contained no representatives of the Army 15's squad that are preparing for battle at Twickenham and were missing key players from 1 Scots who are away on exercise in Belize.

The competition results

Army 7s Squad

The trials turned out about 20 players and a squad of ten was selected to play in the East Grinstead 50th Anniversary Sunshine Charity Sevens Tournament on Sunday 29th. The Army had taken part in the first event 50 years earlier, so it was fitting that we were able to support this Charity competition.

The Army played the host side of East Grinstead in the opening match and to the joy of the crowd and the shock of the Army, East Grinstead almost scored the first try but were turned over inches from the line and the Army bounced back and scored 31 points to 5. The 2nd round resulted in a comfortable 42-0 victory for the Army against Nottingham University. The competition was now getting to the business end and the more established team were emerging as possible threats, these included teams from London Welsh and a number of invitation sides such as Irish Exiles, Alumni 7, Apache and Susie's Saloon.

The Army had now established it's self as a crowd favourite, with a demonstration of silky handling skills and excellent running lines. In the Q/final the Army played a dogged invitation team from the Wooden Spoon Society and ran out comprehensive winners 47 -7. In the Semi Final we were drawn against a strong Worthing team who had defeated London Welsh in the previous round and were growing in confidence, however the Army team had now really started to click into gear and they ran out 47-0 victors.

LCpl Jim Tuitubou (SDG) on his way to the try line with Pte Fillipe Tawayaga (3 Scots) in support

The Final was against an old adversary of the Army, Susies Saloon who are based in Amsterdam and included a number of international sevens player, their defence appeared solid and they had speed to burn. There could have been no better start with Pte Jim Tuitubou collecting the kick off and taking it towards the touchline before flicking it directly back over his head to the supporting player who burst on to it to score. There was a distinct look of shock on the opposition's faces. Pte Matthew Saulailai had proved to be a strong direct runner all day and so it proved in the final, he scored a couple of tries and had a hand in another. LCpl 'Bunny' Burenivalu's deceptive running had the opposition chasing shadows and he was rewarded by being named player of the tournament. The final score was 50 - 12 to the Army and with the talent due to come back in to the frame, the coaching staff are going to have a headache most teams would die for.

Pte Matthew Raikoso (1 Scots) makes the hole for LCpl Sam Cataki (RADC) to score

This new look Army Team played some of the best sevens seen in the history of the Army Sevens setup. Quality opposition had no answer to the performances that the squad produced. What was very satisfying is this team included 4 new caps and a number of players who have not been regulars over the last few seasons. A great accolade was paid to the Army setup by the President of the RFU, Bob Rogers, when mentioned in his speech that he thought the Army team was the best club sevens side in the world.

Man of Tournament LCpl "Bunny" Burenivalu (3 Yorks) turns the opposition inside-out

LCpl Jim Naqarase (2 Scots) makes the break

The winning team celebrates

Our next competition is at Ledbury on Sunday 13 May and it is anticipated that the opposition will include a full Welsh 7's squad preparing for their IRB Sevens at Twickenham. Any support would be much appreciated.

Posted: 8 May 07 updated 31 Jul 07