Interdean held its fourth annual Rugby 7s Tournament in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care on Sunday 7 August, 2011.

This year’s Rugby 7s tournament smashed the last three years’ fund raising, reaching in excess of £32,000 which will be donated to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The highlight of the day was a surprise visit from the Welsh National Rugby Team who popped into the Wasps ground for a last minute training session ahead of their World Cup qualifying game against England later that day. The weather held up for most of the day; the few spots of rain not being enough to dampen anyone’s spirits.

Nineteen teams competed in the tournament, playing a gruelling fifty-eight games across three pitches. One team even travelled all the way from Belgium to take part. The crowds flocked to show their support as their friends and family took part in their respective matches.

The teams put up a great fight, with old-timers of the Interdean Tournament, Ruislip, having very narrowly missed out on the cup for the second year running. Newcomers to the tournament, Hollywood Praetorians, put on a great show in the semi-finals, with an impressive end score. Runners up for the Plate, Imperial Medicals, have competed each year since the tournament began but have as yet to take home any silverware.

Interdean’s on and off the pitch rivals, Pickfords, were worthy winners. A young and confident side, they thrashed their opponents throughout the day, all the way to the finals to bring home the Cup.

The final victors were:

Cup winners: Pickfords (26-19)

Runners up: Ruislip

Plate winners: Hollywood Praetorians (45-5)

Runners up: Imperial Medicals

Bowl winners: HAC (24-21)

Runners up: Wandsworthians

Fun for all the family

Entertainment on the day was found in the shape of a Wild West Fun Run bouncy castle, sweets and cake stall, balloon popping competition plus – originally intended for the younger crowds – the space hopper race ended up being a big hit with the adults. There was even a 1955 restored Ford Popular on display with experts on hand to give those interested a little bit of history on the car.

Fuel for the athletes was provided in the form of a traditionally-themed Australian barbie, sponsored by Interdean’s sister company, Wridgways.

Considering the number of heavy tackles, there were relatively few casualties on the day (bar a lost tooth and a couple of black eyes). Injuries were tended to by the on-site physios from Central Health and St John Ambulance kindly afforded their time to administer first aid.