The Solihull 7s takes place on Wednesday and it looks like being on of the key school 7s tournaments in the build up to the HSBC Rosslyn Park National School 7s.

30 teams will meet at Solihull for one of the biggest tournaments yet this season. The thirty are split into six groups of five, with the Winners heading to a second Cup Group stage.

There will be two Cup Groups, with three teams in each, the winner of each group will then head to the Solihull 7s Cup Final.

There will be a similar format for teams finishing second in the original groups, they will head to two Plate Groups, with the winners of those meeting in the plate, similarly those finishing third in the original groups will head into a Bowl competition.

Solihull, who won the Plate last year are in Group C, where their competition will be Sandbach, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Akeley Wood, and an Ellesmere College side who went all the way to last year’s Cup final before losing to Warwick. What side Solihull put out will be interesting as they are currently scheduled to have their 1^st XV play a NatWest Plate semi final against Lymm High School on Wednesday.

Warwick have won this competition for the last two years running, but will likely take this one easy as they have a NatWest Cup semi final on Saturday. They are placed in Group D, where they will meet Bishop Vesey’s, Coleg Llandrillo, The Crypt, and King’s Macclesfield, who won last year’s Plate with a 26-12 win over King’s Worcester.

King’s Worcester, unusually, are not attending this year. However last year’s Plate runners-up, RGS High Wycombe, are. They are in Group A, where Pate’s Grammar, Lawrence Sherriff, Bloxham, and Welsh side Aberdare are the competition.

There is Welsh presence in Group E too, where Monmouth line up against KES Stratford and KES Aston, as well as Nottingham High School and Solihull 6^th form College.

There is also a Welsh side in Group F, with Ysgol Gyfun Bryn Tawe lining up in a very tough group. Bromsgrove could be the strongest of all, but with a NatWest Cup semi final on Saturday they surely will not compete too hard, however the same cannot be said of AASE side Myerscough College. They will all be joined by Old Swinford Hospital and Bablake in one of the toughest groups.

Finally to Group B, which also looks tricky. 2015 Plate winners, Bedford Modern, lurk as do St Peter’s Gloucester and Loughborough, while Adams Grammar and Wrekin College will also pose a threat.

Solihull 7s – Wednesday 1^st March

*1^st Place to Phase 2 Cup Groups W & X

2^nd Place to Phase 2 Plate Groups Y & Z

3^rd Place to Phase 2 Bowl Group U & V

Top team in each subsequent Group through to respective finals.