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FRN Rugby Festival 2014 Review & Photos

chloeOn 26-27 July 2014 Find Rugby Now held its third annual rugby festival in partnership with London 10s, which featured rugby 7s, 10s and mixed touch rugby competitions at Ilford Wanderers RFC.

The festival featured around 800 players composing 60 rugby teams that competed over two days. The City Dogs and Saracens Women went home with £500 cash prizes for coming top in the men’s and women’s Elite 7s Tournaments, respectively.

The 10s Open Tournament was won by the Stockholm Exiles, who were undoubtedly one of the most social teams at the Festival.

Entertainment included a Barazilian Drum Band, MaxiNutrition Competitions and free supplements, Rodeo Bull Ride and activities for kids including a bouncy castle, bubble station, Scotty’s Tigers Mascot and Giant Connect 4 and Cactus Hoopla games.

DJ Charlotte DevaneyThe tournament also featured an a Cowboys and Indians themed after-party featuring DJ Charlotte Devaney that played tunes well into the night accompanied by the sexy dancing of The Narni Shakers, which were a big hit at the after-party with their fire dancing.

The weather did not disappoint and players were thankful for the free crates of Upbeat Protein Drinks along with samples from the Protein Bakery and Bounce Balls that they received upon registration, which helped them stay energised throughout the day on the Saturday.

Narni Shakers2FRN was pleased to be joined by several VIP guests at the Festival, which included the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup Winner and England International, Maggie Alphonsi.

“It’s a great environment, a great event, and more importantly, the standard of rugby is brilliant”, Alphonsi said.

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“I think you can tell that everyone is having a good time…if you haven’t been before make sure you come next year”, Alphonsi said.

Players once again enjoyed playing with the fantastic pink rugby balls courtesy of Lusum Rugby, our tournament rugby ball sponsor.

Spectators and players also benefited from a variety of food and drink options throughout the Festival, which included a Double Decker bus bar, Pimms and Lemonade stand, Club bar, Bel and Brisket van, Pure Bean Cafe, BBQ, and ice cream options.

Please read below for Festival results, photos and take a look at the FRN 7s official video. We hope to see all of you back next year!

FRN 7s Video

7s Competitions

This year’s 7s tournament featured very competitive men’s and women’s sides accross the competitions.

Men’s Results

FRN7s-33716 men’s teams took part in the men’s Elite and Open competitions with a further 12 taking part in the Social competition.

Teams included the City Dogs, Oxfam Crusaders, Thurrock, FRN 7s, Apollo 7s, Rah Rah Ruggers, Old Columban Rockachaws and Sherrard’s Assassins taking part, amongst others.

The winner of the Elite Tournament was City Dogs with Oxfam Crusaders coming in as runner-up. The winner of the Open Tournament was the Cunning Stunts with Rah Rah Rugby coming in as runner-up. The winner of the Social Tournament was the Old Alleynians.

Women’s Results

The women’s competitions featured 10 women’s teams competing in Elite and Social competitions.

6The standard in the Elite category was impressive with Saracens, Thunderbirds, Hampstead, WRR Sevens and FRN Ladies putting out very competitive squads, with strong performances by all of the teams throughout the day. The Social competition included Blackheath, Scotty’s Little Tigers, Millwall, Beckenham and FRN Development.

The winner of the Elite Tournament was the Saracens with FRN Ladies coming in as runner-up. The winner of the Social Tournament was Scott’s Little Tigers but Beckenham Ladies certainly put up a great fight in the final.

10s Competition

4This year was the first year that we introduced rugby 10s into the Festival with the assistance of the London 10s Festival.

The feedback was very positive and there were 10 teams that competed in Open and Social competitions throughout the Festival. We look forward to welcoming more rugby 10s teams next year!

The winner of the Open Tournament was the Stockholm Exiles. The winner of the Social Tournament was Wanstead RFC.

Mixed Touch Competition

pink teamOn Sunday, we welcomed 10 Touch Rugby teams to the Festival. Despite some sore heads following the late night partying, some 7s and 10s players stayed on to play (but mostly watch) as the fresh-faced touch rugby teams arrived to the grounds.

The winner of the Open competition was CSSC, which impressed with their bright pink kit and flair.

Player’s of the Tournament

FRN7s-15A male and a female player of the tournament were selected courtesy of prizes from The Rugby Paper, The George, Emvale, Front Up Rugby and Bounce Balls.

The prize included a 3 month subscription to The Rugby Paper, FRN “Beast Mode” t-shirt and a pair of boots from Emvale (for the women’s player).

The men’s 7s player of the tournament was Caldon Pike from City Dogs.

The women’s 7s player of the tournament was Lauren Newman from the Saracens.

The men’s 10s player of the tournament was Paul Sullivan from the Stocholm Exiles.

Charity Partner

FRN7s-97FRN was proud to work with our tournament’s charity partners, Scotty’s Little Soldiers, which put out competitive men’s and women’s rugby 7s teams at the Festival.

Spectators and players had the opportunity to visit the charity’s marquee, take photos with their mascot and meet some of their player representatives.

We hope that the funds and the awareness raised on the day for the charity will help contribute to the support of families of our fallen servicemen and women.

For more information about Scotty’s Little Tigers charity and their charity rugby teams, please check out our feature of the charity here.

Special Thanks

FRN would like to extend their gratitude to the following companies:

Scorpion Sports, our tournament sponsor, for providing players with tournament t-shirts.
Zoti, our tournament partner, for providing fantastic rugby shirts for our staff.
Lusum Rugby for providing the match balls and great raffle prizes on the day.
The George for sponsoring the tournament prizes.
The Rugby Paper for sponsoring the players of the tournament and providing free papers.
MaxiNurtition for putting on amazing competitions throughout the day.
MaxiNurtition for providing players with protein supplement shakes.
Protein Bakery, Upbeat Drink and Bounce Balls for providing much-needed protein.
Front Up Rugby for providing great prizes for the raffle.
Ruth Lilley and Scrumpix for taking amazing photos throughout the tournament.
Supreme Engraving for providing quality trophies time after time.
London 10s Festival for being such great festival partners.
Millharbour Marketing for providing excellent publicity work in the run up to the event.
Rah Rah Rugby for helping us with marketing and publicity.
Viper10 for their sponsorship of the FRN 7s teams.
Ilford Wanderers RFC for providing us with a great space to host our tournament.
DJ Charlotte Devaney and The Narni Shakers for fantastic evening entertainment.

Photos

More photos can be found on our FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/FRN7s


About Ellaine

Ellaine is the founder of FRN and author of "Mini and Youth Rugby: Complete Guide for Coaches and Parents" (published October 2015). She has been playing rugby union for over 10 years in the UK and the US for teams including Oxford University Blues, London Wasps, Henley, NOVA, and GWU. She has recently developed a love for rugby 7s and has played on several international rugby 7s teams. She also enjoys playing touch rugby and regularly plays for the FRN Mixed Touch Rugby team. She is passionate about helping others develop a love for rugby. View all posts by Ellaine

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