JP Morgan 7s

First topic message reminder :

http://www.premiershiprugby.com/jpmsevens/

The new season must be getting close as tonight is the first round of the AP pre season 7 s tournament.

We're starting off at the Twickernham Stoop with Quins, Wasps, LI and Sarries all competing for that all important ticket to the finale on the 3rd of August at the Wreck.

So, who are we looking out for, which are the ones to watch?

Hmm, nothing whatsoever on the Chief's website about our side. Not even on the fixtures list. Any other Chiefs fans got news on our side?

Carpe Diem wrote:Hmm, nothing whatsoever on the Chief's website about our side. Not even on the fixtures list. Any other Chiefs fans got news on our side?

Maybe it's because you're fielding a team of sevens specialists, only one of them who is actually from Exeter.

I bet Kevin Barrett is in the squad at least.

beshocked wrote:HKC you didn't see it coming?In the media - Gloucester have been saying "we'll put out a strong squad".

Noticed yet again there are no players who took part in summer tours. Are they not allowed to play?

Tindall seems like a strange choice. One of the slowest centres around these days.

Looks like a good squad though. Interesting to see how Huia Edmonds does for you.

Aren't Bath going to play a decent squad too? Should make things spicy!

There's strong and then there's that! That has a lot of first teamers who you wouldn't expect, to have May, Trinder and Burns is very interesting and you wouldn't have expected more than one of those. On face value Tindall would appear odd, but bare in mind he's just been made backs coach, so this will be good experience for him. I wouldn't be surprised if he manages the team... from the bench

That's a very strong Gloucster squad. Agree with most regarding Tindall. Looking forward to seeing May and Trinder especially. May could cause havoc!

beshocked wrote:

Carpe Diem wrote:Hmm, nothing whatsoever on the Chief's website about our side. Not even on the fixtures list. Any other Chiefs fans got news on our side?

Maybe it's because you're fielding a team of sevens specialists, only one of them who is actually from Exeter.

I bet Kevin Barrett is in the squad at least.

Hasn't that already been done?!

Have heard that the likes of Joel Conlon, Dave Ewers, the Sams (Hill and Jones), the Jacks (Nowell and Arnott) are all likely to be included

beshocked wrote:

Carpe Diem wrote:Hmm, nothing whatsoever on the Chief's website about our side. Not even on the fixtures list. Any other Chiefs fans got news on our side?

Maybe it's because you're fielding a team of sevens specialists, only one of them who is actually from Exeter.

I bet Kevin Barrett is in the squad at least.

Surely no one would be cynical enough to do that 'shocked! It would be almost as bad as gaining promotion through the threat of legal action!

The Bath Squad has been announced, interesting to see how Eastmond gets on!


1. Matt Banahan
2. Ollie Devoto
3. Guy Mercer
4. James Tyas
5. Will Skuse
6. Tom Baldwin
7. Mark McMillan
8. Olly Woodburn
9. Chris Cook
10. Tom Biggs
11. Richard Lane
12. Kyle Eastmond

Well the Bath boys won't be lacking pace in the likes of Cook, Biggs, Eastmond and Woodburn. Should be a good watch on a Thursday night.

The Worcester squad:

1. Jake Abbott (c)
2. Ollie Hayes
3. Josh Drauniniu
4. David Lemi
5. Ollie Frost
6. Errie Claassens
7. Tom Carlisle
8. Josh Matavesi
9. Joe Nellany
10. Neil Best
11. Andy Short
12. Ben Howard

There's some really strong squads here, could be an interesting night.

http://www.espnscrum.com/premiership-2012-13/rugby/story/167551.html

All four squads in one link.

Can't say I know much about the Chiefs squad. Any thoughts Exeter fans?

The other 3 sides look decent though.

Should make a for a very interesting evening.

Particularly Gloucester vs Bath should be an intriguing battle.

Cumbrian wrote:The Bath Squad has been announced, interesting to see how Eastmond gets on!


1. Matt Banahan
2. Ollie Devoto
3. Guy Mercer
4. James Tyas
5. Will Skuse
6. Tom Baldwin
7. Mark McMillan
8. Olly Woodburn
9. Chris Cook
10. Tom Biggs
11. Richard Lane
12. Kyle Eastmond

Not far off a strongest 7s side that, pretty chuffed. Richard Lane one to watch, along with Skuse in the back row

Surprised that prop of yours isn't in there, he had some wheels on him last season!

Hmm, an interesting Exe squad, slightly unexpected:

Exeter Chiefs: Sam Blanchet, Toby Bain, Connor Hartley, Mike Pope, Luke Treharne, Jack Arnott, Henry Slade, Aron Struminski, Rob Coote, Justin Blanchet, Joel Conlon, Rob Beddard

Sam Blanchet - former Canada U17, Exe uni student
Toby Bain - Exe uni student
Connor Hartley - no relation to Dylan, Yeovil U18?
Mike Pope - Exe uni scrumhalf
Luke Treharne - Exe uni fullback, Wales 7s?
Jack Arnott - former England U18, just awarded first full-time contract
Henry Slade - England JWC player (will still qualify for U20 next year)
Aaron Struminski - Launceston flyer, played one 'A' game for Braves on trial
Rob Coote - Exe uni
Justin Blanchet - Canuk brother of Sam (see above), also at Exe uni
Joel Conlon - England U18 last season, backrower with big future ahead of him, likely to go out on loan to Taunton
Rob Beddard - England U18 & Taunton

Pretty young crew

beshocked wrote:http://www.espnscrum.com/premiership-2012-13/rugby/story/167551.html

All four squads in one link.

Can't say I know much about the Chiefs squad. Any thoughts Exeter fans?

The other 3 sides look decent though.

Should make a for a very interesting evening.

Particularly Gloucester vs Bath should be an intriguing battle.

Only really recognise a few names. Joel Conlon is the England U18's no.8, he's apparently a stronger carrier and has big designs on breaking into the Chiefs squad (You won't miss him because he is VERY ginger).

Jack Arnott is the former U18's winger.

Henry Slade is one of the five fly-halfs who played for England this year. He stepped up a year early I believe.

Ah beat me to it!

Aaron Struminski - Launceston flyer, played one 'A' game for Braves on trial

This was the lad who played against Quins wasn't it? From memory had some gas and bagged a try in the corner (or did he knock on near to the try line???)

Ozzy3213 wrote:Aaron Struminski - Launceston flyer, played one 'A' game for Braves on trial

This was the lad who played against Quins wasn't it? From memory had some gas and bagged a try in the corner (or did he knock on near to the try line???)

That's the one, Pete, superb try in the corner, not a hint of a knock-on in sight!

Just watching the highlights from Saints v Tigers and that Saints winger (scored the first try) is very impressive. Maybe with Ashton out of the team we'll see him in the squad.

Some of the Tigers players are impressing as well. Both teams have some good options to bring on.

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:Hmm, an interesting Exe squad, slightly unexpected:

Exeter Chiefs: Sam Blanchet, Toby Bain, Connor Hartley, Mike Pope, Luke Treharne, Jack Arnott, Henry Slade, Aron Struminski, Rob Coote, Justin Blanchet, Joel Conlon, Rob Beddard

Sam Blanchet - former Canada U17, Exe uni student
Toby Bain - Exe uni student
Connor Hartley - no relation to Dylan, Yeovil U18?
Mike Pope - Exe uni scrumhalf
Luke Treharne - Exe uni fullback, Wales 7s?
Jack Arnott - former England U18, just awarded first full-time contract
Henry Slade - England JWC player (will still qualify for U20 next year)
Aaron Struminski - Launceston flyer, played one 'A' game for Braves on trial
Rob Coote - Exe uni
Justin Blanchet - Canuk brother of Sam (see above), also at Exe uni
Joel Conlon - England U18 last season, backrower with big future ahead of him, likely to go out on loan to Taunton
Rob Beddard - England U18 & Taunton

Pretty young crew

Blimey, I was expecting a modest sprinkling of first team squad, but that has really shown where Rob's priorities are this year. Slade and Arnott, being A League champions, would be the senior players, at the tender age of 18 apiece (or are they 19 now?). The Blanchets, Treharne and Struminski shared in that unbeaten A campaign, while, I think, Rob Coote played in the inaugural edition of this tournament, but disappeared from the radar since.

So, while the main squad are off on a 3 day camp being beasted by the Marines, they're only missing 2 youngsters (plus Conlon, who's off to SA with England U-18's anyway).

Some cracking looking squads. Excited to see how Mercer of Bath and Abbott of Worcester get on. Abbott's a had a lot of experience playing 7s, hasn't he? Should be a brilliant night. I enjoyed last Friday's matches, even though the squads were relatively unknowns, but I'm looking forward to these matches more so because of the high profile names. Expect Eastmond to tear it up.

Interesting to see how Banananananahan gets on.

Kingsholm tomorrow:

http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?agency=GRFC_GENERAL&organ_val=34149&utm_source=mdm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JP+Morgan+7s+Live+at+Kingsholm+this+Thursday+26th+July+kick+off+730+PM++Buy+your+tickets+now

I'm going

The Gloucester Rugby squad will be fresh from a 10 day preseason training camp in Tignes in France where part of their preparations consisted of Sevens training.
The twelve players selected boast plenty of first team experience with England Saxons flyer Jonny May named skipper for the evening.
He will lead a squad that features the likes of Mike Tindall, Freddie Burns, Matt Cox and Henry Trinder who are all first team regulars.
There will also be a first opportunity to see new signings Huia Edmonds and Shane Monahan on Gloucester duty, while the Academy continues its recent good work with the likes of Ian Clark, Gareth Evans, Rob Langley and Dan Robson all featuring.
And, named for the first time in a senior squad, is England U18 cap Ross Moriarty, son of Defence Coach Paul.
The final pool of the J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s Series kicks off at 7:30pm on Thursday, 26 July at Kingsholm.

Well HERSH, I'll be kind and keep it at 9 out of 10 and not 10 out of 11. But at least you showed you can win at Kingsholm, just not against Glaws!

Smashed it! Some great games, Clark and Robson looking sharp.

Hersh.
I was there ! Cheering on Glaws.
I was not able support Bath of course, as we were competing with them for top slot, which Glaws' youngsters duly bagged by beating Bath comfortably in the final match. Banaman was a good for a couple of games, but rested for the Glaws matchup. Biggs looked good too.
However I did cheer on your beloved Chiefs to 3rd place, thus avoiding the spoon. A great summer's evening of unseasonal rugby.

gregortree wrote:Hersh.
I was there ! Cheering on Glaws.
I was not able support Bath of course, as we were competing with them for top slot, which Glaws' youngsters duly bagged by beating Bath comfortably in the final match. Banaman was a good for a couple of games, but rested for the Glaws matchup. Biggs looked good too.
However I did cheer on your beloved Chiefs to 3rd place, thus avoiding the spoon. A great summer's evening of unseasonal rugby.

gregortree, any stand outs among the young Chiefs?

AsLongAs:
They all stood out gloriously in that dayglo pink strip on Kingsholms' green sward, with an orange sun setting. That ginger lad's hair did clash with his shirt though.
But Arnott deserves a mention for his tries, quick fella. Pope and Bain were name checked on the PA, but I am not really familiar with your squad names. All 4 teams were very creditable, so no shame for Chiefs. Scorelines seem to exaggerate the underlying skill margins between the teams. Bit of naivity here or there. Bath seemed to show some game 'nous' but maybe missed Banaman in the final matchup.

Thanks

Out of interest, how was May?

May was pretty good.

The best players in my opinion were:

Bath - Biggs
Gloucester - Clark
Exeter - Arnott
Worcester - Claassens

Honourable mentions to Burns,Bananaman and Lemi.

Clark well deserving his award as player of the evening.

Cheers beshocked. Glad he performed well.

Nice to see Banahan get an honourable mention too!

View from the parish journo:

http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/Nigel-Davies-Sevens-heaven/story-16598905-detail/story.html

I'm a big Jonny May fan, having seen his speed & footwork last season.
I think he seemed more closely marked last night, which allowed space for Clark & Burns to shine. But in the final game his acceleration back in defence to overhaul and take down a Bath runner was a different side of May, and he stopped an otherwise certain Bath try.

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:

gregortree wrote:Hersh.
I was there ! Cheering on Glaws.
I was not able support Bath of course, as we were competing with them for top slot, which Glaws' youngsters duly bagged by beating Bath comfortably in the final match. Banaman was a good for a couple of games, but rested for the Glaws matchup. Biggs looked good too.
However I did cheer on your beloved Chiefs to 3rd place, thus avoiding the spoon. A great summer's evening of unseasonal rugby.

gregortree, any stand outs among the young Chiefs?

ASBO, Jack Arnott was excellent. Razor sharp, fantastic step and some quality tries.

On Jonny May, he scored some mesmeric tries in the first couple of games, was constantly marked afterwards though, that just gave Clark the space to finish.

FINALS TONIGHT AT THE WRECK
A: Gloucester Rugby,Sale Sharks and Saracens
B: Bath Rugby, London Irish, London Welsh,

Gloucester Rugby name an unchanged squad for the series final on Friday, with the exception of Dave Lewis who comes in for Freddie Burns in the only change from last Thursdays 7s action
at Kingsholm.Jonny May will skipper his side for the JP Morgan's Premiership Rugby 7s series final at Bath's Recreation Ground on Friday, 3rd August (7.00pm).

Good to see some 'Irish' & Welsh interest here.
I cannot make it tonight, so will have to catch it in Iplayer later.

Its a good way to spend a Friday night watching this, but I rally can't wait until the season starts. Running rugby is great, but a rolling maul is a thing of beauty!

HKC: agreed, It was strange being at the 'Holm last week in sweltering evening temperatures. It don't feel natural.
I'm looking fwd to the new season with our exciting new squad.

It's always sunny over The Stoop

Congratulations to London Irish who got stronger as the competition went on & came back in the final with a great second half display.

I think they deserved it because they put out a strong squad of young talent (mainly English!) and class told in the end.

JJ has tremendous footwork and will be a force at international level if he can reproduce that quality in the 15s game.

I dont think Biggs gets half the media he should. He's a quality player. pace and power. We wasted him when he was up here.

Glos and LI were very impressive. Big welldone to Gloucester for the way they competed without a lot of first choice players. Clarke looks a talent.

LI deserved that trophy, they were a cut above the others and once they started holding the ball and not knocking on looked comfortably in control.

Banahan having trimmed down a bit looks a bit more like a winger now rather then a lock on the wing.

Yappysnap can't say I agree with London Irish being a cut above the others!

They got convincingly beaten by London Welsh and were at one point 28-7 down to Gloucester.

They were the most unpredictable side in the competition actually. To come back in that final was very impressive though.

Gloucester impressed me the most because they didn't use many 1st team players.

Ian Clark was good but in the end should have grounded that ball.

Clearly Irish were a cut above beshocked, hence returning to Sunbury with the trophy.

Joseph was sublime this tournament. I really hope he finds his feet at the International level soon, because he could excel. I think he was a bit blown away by the sheer physciality of the Springboks in the Summer, but will come good. I reckon he could tear it up during the 6N.

Clarke of GLoucester looks pretty handy, doesn't he?

Special mention to Short as well, who continued to impress me throughout the tournament.

bluestonevedder wrote:Joseph was sublime this tournament. I really hope he finds his feet at the International level soon, because he could excel. I think he was a bit blown away by the sheer physciality of the Springboks in the Summer, but will come good. I reckon he could tear it up during the 6N.

Clarke of GLoucester looks pretty handy, doesn't he?

Special mention to Short as well, who continued to impress me throughout the tournament.

I think 90% of the touring squad were in that boat. If they learn from that and try to take on some of that physicality in our future games, then the tour is a success...

Haha, true GF, true!

Ozzy3213 wrote:Clearly Irish were a cut above beshocked, hence returning to Sunbury with the trophy.

I was impressed by LI once they managed to hold on to the ball and drop Homer.

He's a talented lad with the boot but def not a 7's player! It was like watching Farrel play 7's with him there, Joseph and Ansbro were far better.