Hurstpierpoint College will host a key sevens tournament this weekend in Sussex as the short-format season starts to ramp up.

Each competition starts to look crucial as the build-up to the Rosslyn Park National School 7s intensifies.

Twelve teams will be in action at Hurstpierpoint College, who had a sensational fifteen-a-side season and would love to see that translate to the seven-a-side season.

The twelve are divided into four groups of three teams each. Group winners will head to the Cup semi finals, with the semi finals losers meeting in the Plate final. Second in the pools will head to the Bowl semi finals, again with losers meeting in a final, the Shield final. Third in the pools will meet in the Trophy semi finals, with those semi final losers heading to the Vase final.

Group 1 features Ipswich School, who were sensational en route to victory in Sunday’s Seaford Southern Tens and would love to kick off the short-form season with back to back titles – and they will be hard to stop. Gunning to stop them though will be a strong St John’s Leatherhead side and an Eton College side that lost just once in the fifteen-a-side season, they will be major contenders.

Group 2 contains the hosts, Hurstpierpoint College, who have to be considered among the favourites. So too though should be Trinity, who showed up well at the Seaford Southern Tens, while Worth will compete hard and test both severely, it should be a fantastic pool.

Over in Group 3, look out for Dulwich College, who stepped up magnificently in the Seaford Southern Tens to reach the Cup semi finals. The confidence that they will have gained from that should make them real contenders at Hurstpierpoint College. Competing against them are two strong sides though, a Tonbridge side that is capable of real brilliance and that will fancy a good crack at this title, and a Worthing RFC that is probably the strongest club side in the region.

Group 4 features Newman College, who have looked utterly brilliant in the fifteen-a-side season and will be contenders if that translates to 7s. Alongside them are a good Caterham side, and a Bedford side that has had a huge amount of 7s under the belt already, with a lot of training action behind them against Haileybury and Northampton School for Boys.

Hurstpierpoint College 7s Draw: