Villager Sevens this week
August is dribbling to an end and that means the Villager Sevens is due – the 44th Villagers Sevens, the father of all schools Sevens in South Africa.
It may also mean the advent of poor weather but it is to be hoped that climate got that off its chest last weekend and that this afternoon/evening event will be blessed with the best of weather.
The tournament was founded in 1968 by Dave Stewart and John Gainsford, who were backed by Logans Sportsmans Warehouse since its inception. The first match was played in 1969.
It starts at 14.00 on Friday 31 August 2012 and will end at about 20.40. There will be 32 teams from the 21 schools taking part and last year's excellent winners, Wynberg, will be back to defend their title to crown the great season the school has just enjoyed.
To start with 16 matches will be played deciding who takes part in the Trophy Tournament (16 Winning Teams in Round 1) and who moves onto the Plate Section (16 Losing Teams in Round 1).
Teams consist of seven players and three reserves. Matches are played seven minutes each way, with a minute's break in-between. The Final is 10 minutes each way. All matches which result in draw, will move onto Sudden Death. Spells will last 5 minutes each way until a team scores, resulting in the winner.
The matches are played across all three (A, B and C) of the Villager Football Club, Lansdowne Road, Claremont. Fields close progressively through the day, finally to a point where all of the finals are played on the A Field.
Schools participating in this year’s tournament include Rondebosch Boys' High, SACS, Bishops, Wynberg, Langa, Jag Bontes, Jag Sisemele, Bergvliet, Tygerberg High School, Fish Hoek, Groote Schuur, Drakenstein, Westerford, Jag Malibu, Lagunya, Trafalgar, Plumstead, Table View and Zwaanswyk. There will also be a Western Province Invitational Side.
Previous Trophy Winners
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: King's College, New Zealand
1996: Bishops
1997: Northerns RFC
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
2010: Tygerberg
2011: Wynberg
