This Sunday Portsmouth Grammar School host their annual South Coast 7s, one of the most prestigious tournaments of the season and a key staging post on the road to the Rosslyn Park National School 7s.

As ever, the South Coast 7s draws an incredibly strong field that features multiple Rosslyn Park trophy winners and serial contenders.

Sixteen teams will be in action in total, split into four groups of four teams each, however in effect it is a two tier competition. Groups A and B are competing for the Shield, Groups C and D for the Cup.

That means all sixteen sides face knockout action. Top in Group C will play bottom in Group D, with second in C playing third in D, and vice-versa, in the Cup Quarter Finals, quarter final losers head to the Plate. The same format will be in place for Groups A and B, with the Shield the main prize and the Bowl on offer for losing quarter finalists.

Host Portsmouth Grammar School, who won last year’s Bowl, are drawn in Group A where their competition is strong, an RGS Guildford side that enjoyed a superb fifteen-a-side season, ACE side Gordon’s, who won the 2022 Bowl and had their best ever ACE season this year, and Sherborne, who will be itching to progress deep.

Group B includes 2022 Bowl winners, Wimbledon College. They have a tough task on their hands with Winchester College also in the group as well as very strong sides in the form of Bishop Wordworth’s and Dauntsey’s, it should be a highly competitive group.

Competing for the Cup in Group C are last year’s runners up Brighton College, who won this competition in 2018 and 2022 and will be among the favourites this year too. Alongside them are school giants Wellington College, who won the competition in 2016 and will be looking to add to that. The stacked nature of the group continues though, with 2020 Plate winners Canford in the pool as well as last year’s semi finalists Marlborough College, who were sensational in Sunday’s Seaford Southern Tens.

Group D is no easier, reigning champions Millfield would love to go back to back and have a strong chance of doing so. They will have to be sharp though, alongside them are last year’s semi finalists Epsom College, who were superb at the Seaford Southern Tens, as well as the hosts of the competition, Seaford College, who looked outstanding en route to the semi finals there. Completing the group are Bryanston, who move up to the top tier competition after winning last year’s Shield with a defeat of Wimbledon College in the final.

Overall it looks like an incredibly strong field, two superb competitions, and sets up for some sensational action on the field.

South Coast 7s Draw: