Northampton Saints has today announced the dates for the 2016 Elite Insurance Schools Sevens.
The tournament, which is part of the Elite Insurance Sevens Series, gives Under-13 teams from across the East of England the opportunity to compete – sometimes for the first time – in the shortened version of rugby union.
This season’s regional tournaments will be held in March, beginning in Cambridgeshire on Tuesday, March 1st, with the Series then heading to Suffolk (Thursday, March 3rd), Northamptonshire (Tuesday, March 8th), Bedfordshire (Thursday, March 10th), Oxfordshire (Tuesday, March 15th) and Milton Keynes (Tuesday, March 22nd) en route to Finals Day, which will see the winners and runners-up from each region battle it out at Franklin’s Gardens for the right to lift the silverware.
The club is also holding training sessions for players and coaches alike in Cambridgeshire (Tuesday, February 23rd) and Suffolk (Thursday, February 25th), which are free to attend. Training sessions can also be organised directly with the Saints’ community team.
Over the past few seasons the Elite Insurance Sevens Series has gone from strength-to-strength, with over 3,000 youngsters from 140 schools and clubs taking part, and Saints community officer Will Parkin says that he is looking forward to another exciting competition in the spring.
“It is always exciting to get the dates in the diary for the Elite Insurance Schools Sevens,” he said. “The standard of rugby played has gone up with each passing year as schools get more used to playing Sevens, which has its own tactics and requires different skills and awareness from the players.
“Sevens is a great introduction to rugby, especially if schools struggle to get a 15-a-side team together, and what has been brilliant to see is the number of schools join the tournament who are new to the sport.
“Of course 2016 is an Olympic year, and the first time that we’ll be seeing Rugby Sevens in the Games, and hopefully we’ll see even more interest over the next few months.”
To either sign up for the Elite Insurance Sevens Series or book coaching sessions, email Will Parkin at [email protected]
And check out our brand new website, www.elite-rugby.co.uk!
