2011
FRIDAY 15 JULY ~ THE REC, BATH
FRIDAY 22 JULY ~ FRANKLINS GARDENS
FRIDAY 29 JULY ~ EDGELEY PARK
FINALS ~ FRIDAY 5 AUGUST ~ TWICKENHAM STOOP
FINALS
FRIDAY 5 AUGUST ~ TWICKENHAM STOOP
NEWCASTLE gained revenge on Saracens with a 31-21 win in a thrilling repeat of last year’s J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series at the Stoop.
Player-of-the-tournament Luke Fielden was in exceptional form scoring one try and creating two more for the Falcons who fought back after trailing 21-14 midway through the second half.
It was Falcons who got out of the blocks quickest, with Fielden making a half-break before Alex Tait was held up over the line.
But the Sarries’ defence didn’t hold out for long as back-row Redford Pennycook burst over the line put Newcastle in front, Joel Hodgson adding the extras.
Jackson Wray was then isolated and despite the suspicion of a knock-on, Tait pounced on the ball and raced in from the 22, Hodgson again converting for a 14-0 lead.
But the mercurial Hodgson's defence then let him down as Sarries hit back immediately through James Short, skipping past his feeble attempted tackle, Marcus Watson adding the extras.
And Ben Ransom took advantage of another missed tackle from Hodgson to stroll over, Watson converting again to tie things up on the stroke of half-time.
Saracens’ pace was clearly becoming too much for a powerful Newcastle side and Watson broke through the Falcons defensive line to give the reigning champions the lead for the first time.
But with Newcastle looking dead on their feet, Fielden was fastest on to Tait’s grubber through to get the Falcons back to within two, his missed conversion against the post keeping Sarries in front.
And the comeback continued with Tait finishing off a sensational length-of-the-field effort collecting the final inside pass from Aaron Myers to put Newcastle back in front.
Saracens’ reign was ended as Chris Pilgrim finished off more fantastic work by Fielden, whose conversion put Falcons ten points clear.
Newcastle booked their place in the finals by dispatching Wasps and Harlequins, Fielden grabbing a hat-trick in their opening 38-7 win over the Adams Park outfit.
That was Wasps’ second game of the evening as Quins kicked things off with a 19-0 win in the opener, Ross Chisholm scoring the pick of the tries for the hosts.
Those results set up a tantalising decider between the hosts and Newcastle, and after Quins looked to be on their way through taking a 12-0 lead, Fielden and co roared back, the winger scoring the winning try with the last play of the game for a 17-12 victory.
It was altogether more straightforward for Sarries who strolled to a 38-7 win over Bath, Jean-Baptiste Bruzulier scoring twice in their opener.
And after a tough opening half, two tries from Short proved the difference for Sarries as they saw off Sale 21-5 to book their place in back-to-back finals.
In a dead rubber to finish the group games Bath got the better of Sale 28-12, Tom Heathcote helping himself to two tries.
WINNERS:
NEWCASTLE FALCONS
ROUND 3
FRIDAY 29 JULY ~ EDGELEY PARK
LAST year’s runners-up Newcastle were the class act in round three of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series as they and hosts Sale completed the line-up for the finals at the Stoop next Friday.
Falcons ran in 13 tries and conceded just three as they cruised through with three wins out of three to join defending champions Saracens, hosts Harlequins, Sale, London Wasps and Bath in the finals.
With an attendance of 6,467, the Edgeley Park faithful were treated to a feast of attacking rugby and hometown hero Danny Bibby was the player of the round, the Sale winger running in two hat tricks in his three games.
But it was Newcastle who emerged on top and coach Mark Laycock highlighted the Falcons’ direct style as the key to their qualification for the finals.
“We started a little bit sluggish but I think we played better and better rugby to finish it off,” said Laycock.
“We recognised during the week that we had a few more forwards than some of the other teams and our strength was always going to be in playing direct rugby.
“They have all shown the work they have been doing in pre-season. Some guys have put on a bit of bulk over the summer but they showed they still have their pace and they have the ball skills which make all the difference.”
However it was hosts Sale who made the brightest start to the evening as Will Addison ran in the opening try for the Sharks to lead Newcastle 7-0 at the break.
But Falcons came back a different side in the second period with fly half Joel Hodgson pulling the strings, Hodgson ran in one try of his own and laid on one for Ryan Shortland before Luke Fielden sealed the 15-7 win.
In the second clash of the night new boy Danny Gray inspired Worcester to a 19-10 win against Leicester.
And things didn’t get any better for the Tigers after that as they were put to the sword by a swashbuckling Sale Sharks side that had Bibby in fine form.
Bibby ran in a hat trick as Leicester shipped an astonishing seven tries in an memorable 47-0 defeat.
Then, in a match that looked likely to decide the round winner, Newcastle took on Worcester and the Falcons continued to impress with a 19-10 win that saw Hodgson, Fielden and Mark Wilson all touch down.
The Kingston Park outfit’s fitness was then put to the test as they played back-to-back against basement boys Leicester.
But the Tigers were all at sea, still reeling from their seven-try mauling at the hands of Sale, and Newcastle ran out comfortable 41-7 winners.
That meant that hosts Sale and Worcester went into the last clash of the night knowing that the winner would seal a place in next week’s final as runners up to Newcastle.
But the Sharks smelt blood from the off and ripped into the Warriors, Bibby again helping himself to three tries in a 45-12 drubbing.
WINNERS:NEWCASTLE FALCONS
1 Jake Albon 2 Rob Conquest 3 Harry Wells 4 Ed Rolston 5 Jethro Rawling 6 Lee Robinson 7 John Hale 8 Alex Lewington 10 Javiah Pohe 11 Tom Bowen 12 Scott Steele
1 Redford Pennycook 2 Will Welch 3 Aaron Myers 4 Joel Hodgson 5 Luke Fielden 6 Alex Tait 7 Ryan Shortland 8 Richard Mayhew 9 Mark Wilson 10 Will Chudley 11 Luke Eves 12 Chris Pilgrim
1 Mark Jennings 2 Tommy Taylor 3 Jordan Davies 4 Dan Hall 5 Tom Brady 6 Alex Brown 7 Will Cliff 8 Danny Bibby 9 Will Addison 10 Tommy Bell 11 Ed Tellwright 12 Nathan Fowles
1 James Freeman 2 Matt Kvesic 3 Nile Dacres 4 Joel Dudley 5 Danny Gray 6 Mike Penn 7 Andy Short 8 Sam Atkin 9 James Whybrow 10 Sam Miller 11 James Rodley 12 Sean McCarthy
ROUND 2
FRIDAY 22 JULY ~ FRANKLINS GARDENS
THE Saracens juggernaut showed no signs of suffering summer blues as the defending champions booked their place at the final of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership 7s at the Stoop in a fortnight where they will be joined by London Wasps.
James Short was the star of the show running in five tries in two drubbings of Wasps and Northampton before Scott Spurling’s last-gasp effort earned a third win in a cracker against Gloucester.
That late try was enough to end Gloucester’s hopes of making the final on August 5, an under-par performance in their second game against Wasps proving decisive.
But for Short, only just back from England Under 20s duty in Italy, the evening was just more proof that Sarries are going to be a force to be reckoned with again this season.
“We came in after winning this event last year, and obviously the Premiership final as well, so every tournament we enter, we want to win,” said Short.
“I’ve really been looking forward to it, and it was a great performance for us.
“Pace is a massive aid to my game but at Sarries the key is work rate, we pride ourselves on it and I think that was on show again.
“Now we have the Stoop coming up, and we’ll be looking to win that.”
Hosts Northampton made a poor start to the tournament when they threw away a half-time lead against a Mark Woodrow inspired Gloucester and fell to a 26-14 defeat.
Scores from Anders Mogensen and Scott Armstrong had the home side in front but Gloucester responded with four tries of their own from Woodrow, Gareth Evans twice and Fred Burdon.
Saracens then opened up their defence with a convincing 22-14 win against London rivals Wasps, Short and Chris Wyles scoring two tries apiece.
Wasps bounced back from that defeat in style as they put Gloucester to the sword in a five-try 31-5 victory.
Scores from Will Robinson, Joseph Tariperiajua and Charlie Ingalls saw the London side take a comfortable lead before late tries from Mark Billings and Jonah Holmes added a touch of gloss to the scoreline.
Sarries' try-scoring form continued into their second game as Short really cut loose, running in a hattrick of tries in a 29-7 win against a demoralised Northampton.
Then in the encounter of the night a last-gasp score by Saracens hooker Spurling saw the defending champions seal their passage through to the final at the expense of Gloucester.
In a quite enthralling game Saracens made it three wins from three as they emerged 28-22 victors against a Cherry and White side who pushed them all the way.
In the final game of the round a fine Tariperiajua try inspired Wasps to an impressive 19-7 win against hosts Northampton that confirmed their place in the final alongside Saracens.
The London side knew that to go through they had to beat a Saints outfit that were only playing for pride and they bounced back from an early Tom Collins score to emerge comfortable victors.
WINNERS:SARACENS
TEAMS
1 Olly Robinson 2 Reuben Haile 3 Gareth Evans 4 Rob Langley 5 Kobus du Rand 6 Waylon Gasson 7 Mark Woodrow 8 Ian Clark 9 Dan Robson 10 Ryan Brend 11 Fred Burdon 12 Kyle Palm
1 Joe Burton 2 Alex Cheesman 3 Charlie Ingalls 4 Jonah Holmes 5 Mark Billings 6 Tom Nichols 7 Jack Wallace 8 Will Robinson 9 James Tyrell 10 Joseph Tariperiajua 11 Christopher Lewis 12 Stuart Bailey
1 Sam Farmer 2 Jamie Warr 3 Ethan Waller 4 Darrell Dyer 5 Mark Hopley 6 Anders Mogensen 7 Charlie Sadler 8 Scott Armstrong 9 Alex Day 10 Ryan Glynn 11 Tom Collins 12 Jordan Husband
1 Jackson Wray 2 Scott Spurling 3 Will Fraser 4 Tom Jubb 5 Matt Hankin 6 Rodd Penney 7 Jean-Baptiste Bruzulier 8 Marcus Watson 9 Chris Wyles 10 James Short 11 Ben Ransom 12 Josh Bassett
ROUND 1
FRIDAY 15TH JULY 2011 ~ THE REC, BATH ~ GROUP A
RISING star Ross Chisholm believes Harlequins are on course to retain the feel-good factor surrounding the Stoop after winning the opening round of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby 7s Series at the Rec.
Chisholm was selected as man of the tournament after touching down four of Quins’ 15 tries including a hat-trick against Exeter Chiefs as the London side laid down an impressive marker for the final, which is being held on their home turf, on August 5.
And after finishing last season by lifting the Amlin Challenge Cup, full-back Chisholm believes there’s no better way for Quins to kickstart their new campaign than adding another piece of silverware to their trophy cabinet.
He said: “It would be massive if we could back up the Amlin Challenge Cup by winning at the Stoop. “It keeps that buzz going and the whole aim of the club is to win as many trophies as we can and the J.P. Morgan Sevens Trophy is a very important priority to us.
“I think playing in front of a home crowd at the Stoop will be a big advantage because they always support us well.
“It will be a good chance to run out in front of our own fans and show them what we can do.
“Hopefully this will be the start of more opportunities to perform at the Stoop because everyone at Quins loves playing there. We are really well followed and that gives you a massive buzz.”
But while Quins’ progress to the final was a procession, Bath’s place was only secured by points difference ahead of Exeter who beat them 21-17 in the final match of the evening.
Tom Heathcote’s double helped secure the hosts’ passage by the narrowest of margins as they were roared on by the majority of the 4020 crowd inside the Rec.
That spelt the end of both London Irish and Exeter’s campaigns despite the best efforts of the Exiles’ 17-year-old livewire Anthony Watson and the Chiefs’ Jack Arnott.
WINNERS:HARLEQUINS
TEAMS
1 Will Skuse 2 James Stephenson 3 Joe Buckle 4 Tom Baldwin 5 Freddie Gabbitass 6 Ben Mosses 7 Tom Heathcote 8 Matt Keyte 9 Will Clemesha 10 Paul Roberts 11 Jamie-John Kilmartin 12 Richard Lane
1 Chris Whitehead 2 Sam Hill 3 Matt Goddard 4 Jack Nowell 5 Henry Slade 6 Mark Foster 7 Mike Canty 8 Herbie Stupple 9 Dave Ewers 10 James Phillips 11 Jack Arnott 12 Giles Archer
1 Chris York 2 Jack Clifford 3 Charlie Walker 4 Ollie Lindsay-Hague 5 Howard Graham 6 Sam Smith 7 Joe Trayfoot 8 Miles Mantella 9 Luke Wallace 10 Ross Chisholm 11 Henry Taylor 12 Ben Urdapiletta
1 James Lightfoot-Brown 2 Guy Armitage 3 Neville Edwards 4 Tim Holgate 5 Ben Lonergen 6 Peter Synott 7 Ben Pritchard 8 Dave Sisi 9 Jack Moates 10 Charlie Baffour 11 Anthony Watson 12 Oli Brown
COMPETITION
Every week in the run up to the Friday night extravaganza, we have 4 tickets to give away...so click away and enter now...
TICKETS*
Tickets for all events are £10 for adults and £5 for juniors, available directly from the host clubs or through Ticketmaster.
Click on venue image for Stadium Ticket offices.
*Tickets may be subject to a booking fee.
