Middlesex Sevens Draw & Press Release
By Mark H
August 6 2004
It’s nearly here folks! The season starts off with the now traditional curtain-raiser, the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham next Saturday.
The Zurich Premiership clubs are serious about winning this year's London Pride Middlesex Sevens (Saturday 14th August 2004, Twickenham) by fielding strong sides in what is becoming an important part of their pre-season preparation.
Rob Andrew named the Falcons squad on Thursday afternoon, and the ten, led by Jamie Noon, are:-
Jamie Noon (captain)
Michael Stephenson
Joe Shaw
Tom May
Epi Taione
Mathew Tait
Ollie Phillips
Dave Walder
Hall Charlton
Phil Dowson
Please note that the kick off time of the first match is 10 minutes earlier than stated on the tickets, so that Sky can show all of the first round matches before switching coverage to the South Africa v New Zealand Tri-Nations match. The first match now starts at 11.10 am.
What follows is mainly from the RFU press release. I’ve corrected their errors…
The squads from around the premiership include many of the regular England sevens squad alongside many well know faces from the Zurich Premiership. Last year Northampton Saints became the first premiership club since 1995 to win the tournament, beating Newcastle Falcons in the final 31 - 5.
The draw, announced today, offers some thrilling opening matches given the strength of squads named by the professional clubs. Gloucester's side, which includes England regulars James Simpson-Daniel, Marcel Garvey and James Forrester, alongside England Sevens player Henry Paul, meets last year's finalists Newcastle Falcons (13.10pm KO), who boast several of England's youngsters, Dave Walder, Jamie Noon, Michael Stephenson as well as exciting newcomer Mathew Tait who has just been named in England's Elite Playing Squad.
Another interesting opening round match is between London Irish and NEC Harlequins (11.50am KO). This match is a rehearsal for their opening Zurich Premiership match and both clubs have named impressive sides for the London Pride Middlesex Sevens. London Irish have named Paul Sackey, Geoff Appleford and Mark Mapletoft in their squad of ten whilst Quins's squad includes Ugo Monye, Luke Sheriff and Joe Mbu.
The four invitation sides at this year's charity event are the British Army and Rotherham Titans, who open the tournament against each other, London Welsh, who face reigning champions Northampton Saints, and Loughborough University, who meet Zurich Premiership new boys Worcester in the first round.
The London Pride Middlesex Sevens is the world's most famous charity sevens tournament and rugby fans will certainly see their fair share of stars at this year's event. Other England internationals and sevens players appearing include Olly Barkley (Bath), Pat Sanderson and Ben Gollings (both Worcester Warriors), Peter Richards (London Wasps), Kris Chesney (Saracens), Ollie Smith and Leon Lloyd (Leicester Tigers) and Simon Amor (Gloucester).
Tickets for the event at Twickenham on Saturday 14th August are available priced £25 (£10 for juniors) from Ticketmaster on 0871 871 0777 or visit www.londonpridemiddlesex7s.com for more information.
The draw:-
Cup Round One
British Army v Rotherham Titans 11.10
Bath v Leicester Tigers 11.30
London Irish v Harlequins 11.50
Northampton Saints v London Welsh 12.10
Worcester v Loughborough Univ 12.30
London Wasps v Leeds Tykes 12.50
Gloucester v Newcastle Falcons 13.10
Saracens v Sale Sharks 13.30
Cup Quarter Finals
(1) Army/Rotherham v Bath/Leicester 13.50
(2) Irish/Quins v Saints/London Welsh 14.10
(3) Worcester/Loughborough v Wasps/Leeds 14.30
(4) Gloucester/Falcons v Saracens/Sale 14.50
Plate Competition
The four best losers from round one will play each other in the Plate, kick offs at 15.10 and 15.30
Cup Semi Finals
Winner QF 1 v Winner QF 2 16.10
Winner QF 3 v Winner QF 4 16.30
Plate Final 16.50
Cup Final 17.10
All matches to be played over seven minutes each way, except the Cup Final, which is ten minutes each way.