AECC 7s captain Matthew Bateman lifting the South of England plate onstage at Chapel Gate
As many of you will be completely unaware, this weekend saw one of the biggest events in the Bournemouth calendar, with over 20,000 people attending the Bournemouth Sevens Festival at Chapel Gate Sports Ground. As part of their ongoing commitment to spreading the good word about the AECC, your rugby team thought it prudent to make the college’s presence felt at the tournament by entering a team. As it happens, they did rather well – read on for details galore!
Base Camp. Thanks to Sacha Billett for the banner!
Arriving at the ground Saturday morning (8.30am – on a Bank Holiday weekend!) the boys set up camp next to the main pitch, which would be the site of their first game in the tournament’s “Group of Death” against defending champions Bournemouth RFC. The college went down valiantly, a great display topped off with a fine try from new boy Nathan Lee, his fancy footwork too much even for the Bournemouth defence. Final score Bournemouth 33-7 AECC RFC.
Next up were Butler’s Bravados, a highly regarded sevens team with a good pedigree. However, these boys were no match for the college- from the kickoff, Simon Tottle was under the posts, and the lads never looked back. Final score Butler’s 7-31 AECC RFC. Finally, they came up against another local team, Oakmeadians, who had packed their team with superstars, including ex- Bath and New Zealand 7s star Brendon Daniel. Another fine display ended in tears, but not before Jonny Coller could notch a try under the posts, Oaks 24-7 AECC RFC.
This was enough to earn the boys a semi-final spot in the South of England Plate on the Sunday. Once again the boys were cheered on by their travelling support, and by request I shall name them: Zoe Pantelios, Gina Lear, Sorcha Boardman, Laura Gibbs, BenKath, Lizzy Archer, Chubb, as well as all the players not in the squad – Tom Faulkner, Rob Beaven, Dave Elliott, Dominik Jaskulski, Tom Waller, Chris Dunmall, Damian Le Roux, and Guy Falco. Wait, Falco wasn’t there. Not a lad. Add to this the fine jobs being done by Interns Tonje Fjell and Jo Wilson for East Dorset RFC, and Intern Bret Gibbens for Bournemouth and AECC, and there was a small but fine smattering of college representation at this huge event.
Some fine examples of the AECC travelling support
AECC RFC lined up in the opposite side of the draw to the “Elite” Buffalo 7s team of Bournemouth Uni, with a mouthwatering final awaiting should both teams be victorious. First up, though, were Wimborne RFC – another local team. Wimborne started strongly, going two tries up very early on. This did not deter the wise old heads of the AECC though, who came storming back with four tries of their own, following a fantastic performance from 7s captain Matthew Bateman. Another Wimborne try made for a nervous final few minutes until the final whistle went, AECC RFC 26-19 Wimborne.
Unfortunately, St Paul’s Pirates proved too strong for the Bournemouth Uni “Elite” Sevens team, and so AECC (minus injured playmaker Joe “Unit” Williams) would have to beat the team who bettered their bigger badder brother to take home the silverware.
Which they did. Quite resoundingly. AECC RFC were four tries up at half time, courtesy of tries from Simon Tottle, Matthew Bateman and Jon Coller (2). Tiredness began to creep in come the second half, with St Paul’s clawing back three tries, before Nathan Lee scored with the final act of the game to put the result beyond doubt. AECC RFC 33-19 St Paul’s Pirates.
The team: Simon Tottle, Callum Forrest, Iain Stephen Crombie, Jon Coller, Tom White, Matthew Bateman (c), Laurence Plant, Mike Richards, Joe Williams, Joe Frost, Nathan Lee, Ricky Davis, Ed Crawford
Time for celebration, then:
An example of celebration
but not before watching two teams from the AECC RFC pool fight it out in the final of the South of England Cup, Oakmeadians edging the final 26-24, the final a testament to just how hard the AECC RFC group was. The party continued late into the night, but those are stories for another time. Following on from this success, the boys are already looking forward to next year’s competition, where there will hopefully be an even bigger college presence.
AECC RFC: South of England Plate Champions
(Really not that bad for a touch team)
(Really not that bad for a touch team)
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