Photos
We have put a few photos online, come and see
Results
If you want to see the results, you can find it here! We are still busy entering all the scores, so if not al matches have been filled in, please be patient, they will be!
The Teams
The 2008 Amsterdam Sevens looks like being one of the strongest in years. Samurai International will be coached by the South African national 7s coach Paul Treu and is expected to be captained by Schalk van der Merwe with a number of South African internationals in the team. Tim Visser, the Dutch player discovered by Newcastle Falcons at the Amsterdam Sevens and now playing for the Falcons in the Guinness Premiership will be there with the Kooga Wailers. The national teams of Moldova, Georgia and the Czech Republic will be there as part of their preparations for their summer international tournaments while the national team of Catalonia will be there to prove they are a nation. Other top sevens sides include Adidas Corso Marauders, Susies Christina Noble, top Scottish sides Rugby Ecosse, Gumboots and Merchonians, Irish Exiles, Millfield Old Boys, Scufflers, Mel’s Exiles and Welsh team Plume of Feathers plus teams from all over Europe. The Dutch teams most likely to shine are the national team playing under the Witte Raven banner and the Dukes who will be going for the quadruple after winning the national Championship, the Cup and the National 7s championship.
The Ladies tournament will be, if anything, stronger than the Men’s tournament. The Hong Kong Sevens winners USA will be there, as will the beaten finalists Canada. Aotearoa Mauri Womens 7s won the Hong Kong Sevens for the 6 years previous to that but were not there allowed to defend their title because they are not a national side. Unlike Hong Kong, the Amsterdam Sevens are more than happy to see the top rated Ladies team in the world show the pretenders who’s boss. Samurai St Georges Ladies will also be pushing for the title with a strong team containing England Internationals. The National teams of the Czech Republic, Brazil and Norway (yes, Brazil and Norway!) will also be playing alongside some strong invitational sides, the Corsollettes, Susies Valkyries, defending champions Wooden Spoon and Moody Cows. Dutch hopes will rest on National Sevens champions AAC and losing finalists Bassets who will be looking for revenge.
We have 9 Veterans Teams and, if there any brave old souls out there, we have room for one more team. Players need to be 35 or over.
A couple more last minute call-offs. In addition to Viator Spanish and Castroni 7s who called off last week, the men’s tournament has now lost URC Roma (injuries and play-offs for their under 21s). After losing Richmond last week, the Ladies Tournament have lost Boudicca Ladies, we do not know why as they didn’t bother to tell us they were not coming. We have replacements arranged and both the Men’s and the Ladies Tournaments will be full with 60 teams and 20 teams respectively. The latest Saturday match schema should be on the web site any time now.
The National 7s tournament held on May 11th was won by the Dukes from Den Bosch, which makes it a treble this season as they have already won the league and cup. Castricum lost out in the Final and the losing semi-finalists were Amstelveen and ‘t Gooi. Dukes, ‘t Gooi and Amstelveen will be at the Amsterdam Sevens.
Getting to the tournament.
If you use Google Earth or Google Maps, enter “Amsterdam Sevens Rugby Tournament” and this will show the location of the tournament which can also be used for route planning by road. Bus 21 from Central Station is the favoured public transport option. A new alternative has been identified by Hans Engels. Bus 192 leaves Sloterdijk Station twice an hour and gets to the Freule Wttewaalpad, (a couple of minutes walk from the ground) in about 10 minutes.
The Weather
The nearer we get to the tournament the worse the weather forecast gets. The current expectation for the weekend is a high of 16oC (61 oF), mostly cloudy with showers. Sunday will have more sunshine and less showers than Saturday.
New Zealand Rocks
Unfortunately the performance by the New Zealand band Opshop we announced earlier was cancelled, so you will have to get your Friday night training elsewhere! Don't worry, there are plenty of good clubs in Amsterdam to please everyone's needs.