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Rugby, Live Streaming and Winners: London International 7s Tournament (LIT7s) 2019 Review

This past Saturday on 22 June, FindRugbyNow held the 8th annual London International 7s Tournament (“LIT 7s”) at Wasps FC in West London with the intention of bringing together the best competitive and social rugby sevens teams from across the world.

Forty men’s and women’s teams took part in the tournament with over 9 different nationalities being represented by teams including New Zealand, Nigeria, Fiji, South Africa and Japan, amongst others.

“The best thing [about the event] was the diversity of players from around the world and the experience of playing with them,” said Ben Hatch, who played for the Eton Manor Meerkats on Saturday.

Live Streaming & Professional Commentary

The entire event was live streamed and the final stages for all competitions included live commentary from World Cup Winners Natasha “Mo Hunt” (England 7s and England 15s) and Nick Heath, a professional commentator that commentates for the Six Nations, Premier 15s and Premiership Rugby.

Players from both social and open competitions had the benefit of the live coverage, which is still extremely rare in the amateur game. The stream has already had over 10,000 views across the different platforms (only 4 days post event!).

“Having the women’s social [competition] broadcasted was the most amazing experience – no other 7s tournament has done that for us!” said Tash, a member of the South East Sharks team who played in the women’s social.

“Broadcasting it meant that friends and family could watch it too, “ said Kerrie Giles, a family member that could not make the event but was able to support from home.

You can also check out all of the streamed matches from the tournament on our Youtube page here.

Winners

Competition winners included:

Women’s Social 7s: Barnes Ladies
Runners Up: Goatesses
Women’s Open 7s: Mayans
Runners Up: Try-Ceratops
Men’s Social 7s: USRFC Alumni
Runners Up: SW7s
Men’s Open 7s: Barbados Flying Fish
Runners Up: d4T Preseli Babas
Men’s 10s: Southwark Lancers
Runners Up: Wasps FC
Best Team Spirit
: Wolverhampton Ladies

There were also individual “players of the tournament” awards that were awarded for each competition. These included:

Women’s Social 7s: Emma Stone, Barnes Ladies
Women’s Open 7s: Kate Adler, Mayans
Men’s Social 7s: Charley Crawley, USRFC Alumni
Men’s Open 7s: Will Sanders, Barbados Flying Fish
Men’s 10s: Henry Nicholson, Southwark Lancers

Entertainment

In addition to the rugby on the day, players and spectators alike enjoyed a variety of entertainment on the day including (1) male and female FRN Cheerleaders, which performed tumbling passes, dances and gymnastics throughout the day; (2) DJ Mista Mojo, who entertained the crowds all day and night with his live music and rapping performances; and a (3) Caribbean Drum performance that entertained everyone alongside some limbo fun.

The Red Bull wings team also made an appearance and handed out free red bulls to all players and spectators alike and Lollyposh delighted 200 lucky visitors with free ice cream!

Spectators and players had a variety of options for food and pitch-side bars, which included a BBQ, Greek Food Van, Uncle Beef Biltong and delicious Lollyposh ice cream along with indoor and outdoor bars.

The evening entertainment included a beer pong competition and dancing late into the night to the tunes of DJ Mista Mojo!

Partners, Sponsors & Staff

We would like to thank our partners and sponsors for making this year’s tournament such a success. We couldn’t have done it without you!

  • Wasps Rugby Club – Club Hosts
  • Charlotte Lloyd Memorial Trust – Official Charity
  • Zot Sports – Official Shirt Sponsors
  • Sports Ball Shop (Lusum Rugby Balls) – Official Match Ball Sponsors,
  • Lollyposh – ice cream partners
  • LoveDrinks, – team prize sponsors
  • Bounce Balls – team prize sponsors
  • Uncle Beef Ltd – player of the tournament prize sponsors
  • Cockspur Rum – player of the tournament prize sponsors
  • Humps Optics – player of the tournament prize sponsors
  • Rugby Barbados World 7s – tournament partners
  • Fill Your Boots – tournament partners
  • Red Bull – tournament partners
  • London Referee Society – official referees
  • Rugby Medics – official medics

Also a massive thank you to Nick Heath and Natasha “Mo” Hunt for their fantastic commentating throughout the day and to 247 for their fantastic streaming.

Finally a big thank you to all of our staff for making this year’s event so successful. Our epic team included Ellaine Gelman, Ruth Lilley, Mike Taylor, Scott Vinnicombe, Christian Gib, Jake Vinnicombe, Harry Osei, Katie Boot, Jak Skerrett, Marc Schubert, Ciara Potter, Andre Cabera, Mark Fernie, Rocio GV, Lucie Broad, Alex Muresan and Jessica Newland.

More Info

Further information including tournament photos and full results are available on our social media pages – Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @LIT7s.

The 2020 Tournament date will be announced soon – we hope to see you in 2020!


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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