2004 Tournament Write-upWelcome to the 57th Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby 7s tournament. Your timing is perfect as this is likely to be the most closely contested of any tournament yet. There are no fewer than 10 teams which could win a title which is proving harder and harder to win, year by year.Just consider some of the statistics - no New Zealand side has won the Ablitt Cup for the last two years. This is something of an anomaly given New Zealand's unprecedented honour roll when it comes to 7s at all levels no other side, for example, has won the IRB International Series since it began. Here at SCC, however, the Ablitt Cup is proving difficult for Kiwis to grasp. If a New Zealand team does not win this year, that will equal the longest losing phase by New Zealand sides since the competition went truly international in 1982.  Consider too, the lack of success at SCC of a class side like Army UK winners of the `Holy Grail' of club sevens, the Middlesex 7s. But, in spite of several years of trying, Army UK and their small army of talented Fijians have yet to lift the Cup. However, it was not just the fact that the Ablitt Cup is difficult to win that accounted for the unfettered joy that greeted the victory last year by South Africa's Durban Harlequins respected supporters of this tournament since 1993. Durban had a proud record at the SCC 7s but were regarded as an "unlucky" side with finishing second, beaten finalists, in 2002, 2000 and 1999. But in 2003 the South Africans were widely regarded as the best team in the tournament, looking formidable on both Saturday and Sunday and possessing perhaps the fastest squad of players on show. Also, it's fair to say that 2003 wasn't exactly a jolly time for South African rugby. Their earliest exit from the World Cup, a record defeat by England and finishing last in the Tri-Nations and the Super 12 were all part of a forgettable year. But, in the cauldron of sevens that is the Padang for two days in November, Durban Harlequins handled the heat (and the rain) better than anyone else to run out winners of the 56th SCC International Rugby 7s and the Ablitt Cup.  In pool play, they overcame a possibly awkward encounter against Australian Legends, winning 31-10 and comfortably beating Atlantis, SCC and SRC. On Sunday, they got past another difficult opponent in the Fijian-laden British Army Germany by 21-12 and were then drawn against Marist North Harbour in the quarterfinal.
Marist had several past and present New Zealand sevens representatives in their ranks and was the pick of many to be surprise finalists this year but Durban never really let them into the game and won 22-10. Then came one of the matches of the tournament - against Army UK. In a rattling good game full of sevens skill and dash, Durban won 19-14 with their technique and defensive work outstanding after a rainy start to the Sunday.   That put them on a collision course for their bogey team Taradale of New Zealand. Taradale won the Ablitt Cup back-to-back in 1999 and 2000 and beat Durban both times in the final. Harlequins had pipped them in the quarterfinals of 2002 but this was the revenge that must have tasted sweetest. The 2003 Taradale version was a slick and dangerous 7s outfit, complete with space-markers and finishers but Harlequins ran out deserved winners by 29-21 in an exhilarating match.  Taradale had beaten Auckland club side Ponsonby (28-24 and may have been beaten had Ponsonby taken their chances) in the pool matches. They then defeated 2001 winners Oriental-Rongotai, also of New Zealand, by 31-5 after "Ories" had disposed of last year's winners, Davetalevu in a quarterfinal upset.
While they were hugely impressive in dispatching Ories in the semi-final, Taradale could not quite match for Durban in the final with speedster Justin Peach showing his blistering pace as a finisher and Neil Cole showed his skills in making space and was named man of the tournament with Peach as man of the final.  There were also new names stencilled on the Plate and Bowl this year, with a joyous Impala, from Kenya, winning the competition by beating British Army Germany 34-12 in an inspired display. This was Impala's best finish in the SCC tournament, beating their previous best of winning the Bowl in 2000. The 2003 Bowl went to Gove, from Australia's Northern Territories. The Aussies were the only unbeaten side in the Bowl played in a round-robin format this year- before the final and beat NS Wanderers, of Malaysia, 29-14 in the final. The South Africans' deserved win was their first since they began playing in the tourna- ment since 1993 and comes in probably the most competitive SCC 7s ever with no fewer than 8 sides (including Taradale, Army UK, Davetalevu, Oriental-Rongotai, Marist North Harbour, Ponsonby and Australian Legends) all regarded as potential tournament winners before play began.  But this year shapes up even better with the winner of the tournament likely to come from Taradale, Army UK, Oriental-Rongotai, North Harbour Marist, Durban Harlequins, Ponsonby, New Zealand Legends, Australian Legends, Randwick and Wellington and that does not even take into account the skills of British Army Germany who have the ability to take some of the more fancied scalps. Enjoy! |
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