It was a case of back to the '90s at the 2005 Heineken Amsterdam Sevens. The two teams who monopolised the tournament during the 1990s broke their duck in the new millennium to meet in the 2005 final. Samurai, winners of the tournament in 1996, 1997 and 1999, overcame Mel's Vanua Exiles, this years Fijian flavour of Mel's Exiles, winners in 1992, 1994, 1995 and 1998, by the eventually comfortable margin of 47–28. Samurai therefore now join Mel's Exiles as the most successful teams in the history of the Heineken Amsterdam Sevens with four wins.
Orchestrated by "Café Corso Player of the Tournament" David Strettle, Samurai were fastest out of the blocks and quickly ran up a three try lead. Mel's Vanua Exiles, notoriously slow starters, then made a game of it but never managed to get back on terms.
The 2005 tournament was one of the strongest ever and one of the most open. The most common response to the question "Who is going to win?" was a shrug of the shoulders and "No idea. Could be any one of eight" or ten or twelve. All eight Sunday morning pools were tough and some of the fancied teams fell at this stage. 2004 winners Corso Marauders went out in the Sunday Morning pools to Zambeze Cheetahs, the Zimbabwean national team with the Cheetahs beating the Marauders 31–21 in the decisive game. 2002 Winners Castricum Wailers lost out to English team Jedi, losing 33–21 in the decisive game. British Army (Germany), quarter-finalists last year, lost out to last years losing finalists Susies Exiles, 24–7 in the game between the two teams. Raging Bull Scholars who were so unlucky not to make the quarter-finals last year, lost out again, this time to perennial semi-finalists Backstabbers, losing 45–12 in the game between the two teams. Three times winners White Hart Marauders lost out to Samurai 33–5 in their pool game.
In the hard fought quarter finals the Jedi lost out to Samurai 31–21, Zambeze Cheetahs fantastic run came to an end against Backstabbers 28–14. Last years losing finalists Susies Exiles lost out to Mel's Vanua Exiles 26–19 and Millfield Old Boys beat Mel's Exiles, The Welshmen, the Welsh flavour of Mel's Exiles, 24–14. Having beaten the Welsh flavour of Mel's Exiles, Millfield then ran into the Fijian flavour, Mel's Vanua Exiles in the semi-final, losing 28–19. Samurai beat Backstabbers 28–12 in the other semi-final.
Dutch teams doing well and reaching the Silver Pier stage included Castricum, Delft Students who beat Castricum 26–7 in their pool to finish as the highest ranked Dutch team, host club AAC and Dutch National Sevens champions Hilversum. Other highlights included Moldova TU making the Silver Pier and playing against the Zimbabwean national team – a game that illustrates the international flavour of the Heineken Amsterdam Sevens (for the record, Zambeze Cheetahs won 40–0.) and the Tigers, the team from the Princess of Wales' Regiment playing the Royal Navy team, a victory for the "pongos" over the Senior Service by 33–26.
The Heineken Boot is no more. Heineken no longer make the glass boot piece of memorabilia and we broke the last three we had trying to get it through the post to last years winner Belfast High Former Pupils. There is a new trophy that is a bit "bling" but does hold more beer than the old Heineken Boot, The Systems Consultancy Partners Rugby Trophy. First winners of the SCP Trophy were Kama Sutra. It is a long story. Three of the pools ran to schedule. Ascrum of the Netherlands qualified at the expense of Galacticos of England and URC of Rome. Global Oysters put out last years winners Belfast High FP and surprise package Waterland. Den Haag put out Howe of Fife from Scotland and Global Visas London New Zealand. The final pool was anything but straightforward. Kama Sutra, from the Cork area of Ireland, on their first visit to the Heineken Amsterdam Sevens, were obviously not used to the distractions Amsterdam offers and missed their first game on Sunday Morning but did beat Luxembourg 33–28 in their other game. Northern Peasants won their game against Kama Sutra by default but lost to Luxembourg 24–12. A combination of someone putting a result in the wrong way round and early flights meant Pool Winners Luxembourg were on their third pint by the time the semi-final was due to take place and Northern Peasants needed to leave. Kama Sutra, despite having finished third in their pool, therefore took their place in the semi-final against Global Oysters. Kama Sutra took advantage of their good fortune and beat Global Oysters 36–12 in the semi final before going on to beat Den Haag 42–26 in the Final.
The Integer Plate was won by Desert Foxes, a British Army team from Germany who defeated Dukes of Den Bosch 56–21. Losing semi-finalists were Kituro from Brussels and the Marauders Vets who rolled back the years.
The Ladies Tournament came to a head on Sunday with Samurai Women completing a double for Samurai Sportswear. They beat W.O.P. in the final convincingly 60–0. Samurai Women got a much sterner test in the semi-final where they scraped through by 19–14 against Henley Hawks Ladies. The other losing semi-finalists were Simon Fraser University from Canada.
As usual everyone was impressed by the organisation although, like the swan, what looks smooth and graceful above the surface conceals desperately flailing feet under the surface. The smallest of faults can have massive repercussions. One referee turning up to the wrong pitch caused a delay on the pitch where the game was played, this led to the gap between the pool games and the quarter final of the Silver Pier being too short for one team and the switching of quarter finals leading to discussions about the semi-final line up. No names, no pack drill. Results put in the wrong way round and the correction not being "committed" leading to group winners starting on the beer. It's all part of the fun. Thanks to all of the volunteers who put in a lot of their own time to make all of this possible. And a special word of thanks to whoever organised the weather. We could have made a fortune selling sunscreen. We would also like to thank all of the sponsors who provide that vital ingredient to make the tournament happen – money.
Finally, we would like to thank all of the teams who came from all over the world to play at the Heineken Amsterdam Sevens. We put the work in to make the Heineken Amsterdam Sevens the biggest and best Sevens tournament but it is the teams from all over the world taking part in the tournament that make the tournament so successful. Next year will be bigger and better.