Villager Sevens this week

August is dribbling to an end and that means the Villager Sevens is due - the 44th Villagers Sevens, the father of all schools Sevens in South Africa.

It may also mean the advent of poor weather but it is to be hoped that climate got that off its chest last weekend and that this afternoon/evening event will be blessed with the best of weather.

The tournament was founded in 1968 by Dave Stewart and John Gainsford, who were backed by Logans Sportsmans Warehouse since its inception. The first match was played in 1969.

It starts at 14.00 on Friday 31 August 2012 and will end at about 20.40.  There will be 32 teams from the 21 schools taking part and last year's excellent winners, Wynberg, will be back to defend their title to crown the great season the school has just enjoyed.

To start with 16 matches will be played deciding who takes part in the Trophy Tournament (16 Winning Teams in Round 1) and who moves onto the Plate Section (16 Losing Teams in Round 1).

Teams consist of seven players and three reserves. Matches are played seven minutes each way, with a minute's break in-between. The Final is 10 minutes each way. All matches which result in draw, will move onto Sudden Death. Spells will last 5 minutes each way until a team scores, resulting in the winner.

The matches are played across all three (A, B and C) of the Villager Football Club, Lansdowne Road, Claremont. Fields close progressively through the day, finally to a point where all of the finals are played on the A Field.

Schools participating in this year’s tournament include Rondebosch Boys' High, SACS, Bishops, Wynberg, Langa, Jag Bontes, Jag Sisemele, Bergvliet, Tygerberg High School, Fish Hoek, Groote Schuur, Drakenstein, Westerford, Jag Malibu, Lagunya, Trafalgar, Plumstead, Table View and Zwaanswyk. There will also be a Western Province Invitational Side.

Previous Trophy Winners

1969: Wynberg

1970: Rondebosch

1971: Plumstead

1972: Rondebosch

1973: SACS

1974: Wynberg

1975: Rondebosch

1976: Bishops

1977: Rondebosch

1978: Bishops

1979: Bishops

1980: Plumstead

1981: Bishops

1982: Bishops B

1983: Bishops

1984: Rondebosch

1985: Bishops

1986: Bishops

1987: Bishops

1988: Bishops

1989: Bishops

1990: Wynberg

1991: Rondebosch

1992: Bishops

1993: Bishops

1994: Wynberg

1995: King's College, New Zealand

1996: Bishops

1997: Northerns RFC

1998: SACS

1999: Bishops

2000: Rondebosch

2001: Rondebosch

2002: Bishops

2003: Bishops

2004: Tygerberg RFC

2005: Bishops

2006: Bishops

2007: SACS

2008: Wynberg

2009: Bishops

2010: Tygerberg

2011: Wynberg