The 47th Villager Sevens
The Villager Sevens started in 1968, the brainchild especially of Dave Stewart, a Villager stalwart, a former Springbok and a great rugby idealist. This then is the 47th edition.
In the past the Villager Sevens has been greatly supported, this despite the usually inclement weather which has accompanied it. For this Friday sunny weather is expected – clear, no rain and a high of 23°C, dropping to 12°C. It sounds perfect for lots of rugby fun.
Originally the tournament was for Peninsula schools but now there is wider partcipation as far as Paarl and Stellenbosch, and other Sevens have sprung up for schools reluctant to see the end of the rugby season..
The winners of the last three Villager Sevens have been Tygerberg. They will there again as will Bishops who have won it most often.
There will be 24 teams from 19 schools and clubs taking part. The teams will be divided into eight pools of three teams each. The top two sides in each pool go through to the knock-out comeptition whose winner will take the Villager Cup. The bottom team in each pool will go through to the Plate.
There will be two teams from each of Bishops, Rondebosch, SACS, Hoërskool Tygerberg and Wynberg and one each from Fish Hoek, Westerford, Voortrekker, Excelsior, Malibu of Blue Downs, Langa, Milnerton, Sizimisele of Mandela Park in Khayalitsha, Parklands College out Blouberg way, Western Cape Sports School, Zishukanyo of Weltevreden Valley in Mitchells Plain, Primrose RFC, Paul Roos and Paarl Gim.
The matches start at 13.40 with the Final – the 46th match of the tournament – scheduled to kick off at 20.15.
Winners Down the Years
Villager Sevens Trophy
1969: Wynberg
1970: Rondebosch
1971: Plumstead
1972: Rondebosch
1973: SACS
1974: Wynberg
1975: Rondebosch
1976: Bishops
1977: Rondebosch
1978: Bishops
1979: Bishops
1980: Plumstead
1981: Bishops
1982: Bishops B
1983: Bishops
1984: Rondebosch
1985: Bishops
1986: Bishops
1987: Bishops
1988: Bishops
1989: Bishops
1990: Wynberg
1991: Rondebosch
1992: Bishops
1993: Bishops
1994: Wynberg
1995: Kings College, New Zealand
1996: Bishops
1997: Northerns
1998: SACS
1999: Bishops
2000: Rondebosch
2001: Rondebosch
2002: Bishops
2003: Bishops
2004: Tygerberg RFC
2005: Bishops
2006: Bishops
2007: SACS
2008: Wynberg
2009: Bishops A
2010: Tygerberg Hoërskool
2011: Wynberg
2012: Tygerberg Hoërskool
2013: Tygerberg Hoërskool
2014: Tygerberg Hoërskool
Plate Competition
1975: Westerford A
1976: Lansdowne
1977: Fish Hoek
1978: Pinelands
1979: Westerford A
1980: Bergvliet
1981: Rondebosch B
1982: Camps Bay
1983: Voortrekker
1984: Northerns B
1985: St George’s
1986: Voortrekker
1987: Rondebosch B
1988: Plumstead A
1989: St George’s
1990: SACS B
1991: Lagunya
1992: Windsor
1993: Fish Hoek A
1994: Primrose
1995: Primrose
1996: Lagunya
1997: Bishops B
1998: Voortrekker
1999: Fish Hoek A
2000: Groote Schuur
2001: Lagunya
2002: Jan van Riebeeck
2003: SACS B
2004: Fish Hoek
2005: Reddam
2006: Tygerberg B
2007: No Plate Competition
2008: Zwaanswyk
2009: Excelsior
2010: Temperance
2011: Bishops C
2012: Tygerberg Hoërskool B
2013: Wynberg
2014: Milnerton
Photo: Tygerberg are the winners and Dave Stewart is the man with the grey hair.
