Singha 7's Pool C - Harlequins, Northampton, Saracens and Wasps Part 1

I love a bit of 7's. I was born in Hong Kong and my first experience of rugby was the shortened form of the game. For those who don't know otherwise, 7's is to rugby as 20:Twenty is to cricket or 5-a-side is to football: a shorter and quicker version of the game. 7 players on a team, 7 minutes each way and much, much more space to run around in. From a referee standpoint, the game is essentially the same, with the exception of time-wasting being an instant yellow card and scrums are only 6 man contests. This particular 7's contest was the Midlands based round, with Wasps hosting Northampton, Saracens and Harlequins at the Ricoh arena. 7203 people flocked into the Ricoh, the smallest audience they've had since moving as a fun fact! And boy, were they entertained! Now, because there's so many games in one go, I've had to split the games up into two parts. So here are the first three matches kicking off with:

Harlequins  v Wasps.

Quins and the hosts Wasps started us off. An very early yellow card against Guy Thompson for throwing away the ball gives Quins a 2 minute advantage. They fail to sustain the pressure however and they knock the ball on. Wasps take the scrum, then give away the ball to Christian Wade who sprints for the line, virtually the length of the pitch, with Alex Lozowski converting the try.

Harlequins retaliate and a dubious pass to captain Joe Marchant sees him in on the left hand side. Luke White evens the scores, and further tries by both Wade and Marchant, and a conversion each side kept them level. The game showed a lack of defence from both teams as all the tries seemed to come from second or third phase ball. Proving this point, Brendan Macken darted over on a second phase, taking the score to 14-19 to the hosts at half time.

Wasps kept up the scoring in the second half, working from a 5 metre scrum with Wade finishing off for his hattrick. Despite a golden opportunity for Harlequins, Wasps added to their tally with a try utilising the dancing feet of Dan Robson and a final score through Josh Bassett gave Wasps a final score 40 – 14. The boot of Lozowski kept the scoreboard ticking over and the clinical attack kept the hosts away.

Saracens v Northampton Saints.

Saracens opened their account early, moving first left then right after a lineout and captain Tom Whitely finished the move. Saracens kept up their poor kick offs, giving a free kick to the Saints. With the Midlanders unable to keep hold of the ball, Matt Hankin broke away then offloaded to Dom Morris. Whitely converted the score, but from there, Northampton decided to fight back. Will Allman started the comeback by tying up several defenders, creating the space for Tom Emery to crash over the line. Sam Olver took the next try for himself, having previously converted Emery’s score. A beautiful dummy and a high rate of pace, despite the chasing Nathan Earle, give Northampton the lead at half time.

Winning the kick off, Northampton ship it to Rory Hutchinson, the Scotland U20 fly-half finishing off a team try. His second try came shortly after as Olver mimicked Brian O’Driscoll’s antics when he last visited the Gardens – a pass through the legs to set the Scotsman up for the double. Inaccurate passing from both teams shows the stain the shortened format puts on players, but eventually after a sprint from James Grayson and a penalty against the Premiership Champions gave a final try to Alex Rayman. The conversion hit the uprights, so the final score ended with 12-31 to the Saints.

  

Saracens v Harlequins.

Saracens opened the scoring account, despite both teams showing early intent. Whitely finished off a well worked move on the right hand side and converted his own try. From there, the characteristic defence of the Champions held the Londoner’s away from the try line. A XV’s style chip and chase from Saracens was a gamble, but as the last Quins defender fails to release, Kevin Barrett takes the quick tap to finish the move. A final score before the half off the back of the Saracens scrum has Nathan Earle add to the tally.

With a 19 point gap to overcome, Quins attacked early, taking advantage of a Saracens fumble and using clever hands of Luke White gave Marchant his third of the evening. Reclaiming the kick off on the left, Quins work across the field allowing Robbie Nairn to cross for his first of the evening. With conversions off the table for Harlequins for now, both teams gave away penalties before James Tirrell darted down field with Marchant chasing. The Saracens man wins the foot race however, and stretched the lead again to 14 points. The final points would go to the men in white, as Nairn sprinted away before allowing Senitiki Nayalo the chance to finish in the next phase. Too little, too late for the Londoners as Saracens run the clock down. Final score 24 – 17 to the Premiership champions. 

As we go into the interval, of my own writing, Wasps are leading the way on points difference and have a game in hand before they face up to their new neighbours. Stay tuned for more 7's excitement!