On Friday 7th June the inaugural Rosslyn Park University 7s takes place, with 8 of the finest sides in all of BUCS Super Rugby heading to The Rock, home to Rosslyn Park FC, to take part in a brand new and exciting tournament.
Building on an incredible 2024 Howden Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s and the huge success of BUCS Super Rugby, the Rosslyn Park University 7s is set to be an epic day and night of rugby sevens.
The whole event will be broadcast LIVE here on NextGenXV through the NextGenXV YouTube channel and through the embedded video below, with broadcast legend Rupert Cox leading the commentary team.
The Tournament kicks off at 2.40pm, with the finals at 10pm, and the eight sides are split into two pools of four, with the top two heading to the Cup semi finals and the bottom two to the Plate semis.
Adding to the excitement is the fact that, reflecting the HSBC SVNS series, there will be no draws in any game as all drawn games will go to extra time and golden point!
The eight teams competing are BUCS 7s Champions Durham, BUCS Super Rugby Champions Loughborough, BSR’s most consistently successful side, Exeter, professional play factories Bath University and Hartpury College, Nottingham University, and Welsh giants Swansea Uni and Cardiff Met.
Each side has seen an assortment of outstanding players pass through their ranks over the years, among them internationals such as England’s Alex Dombrandt, Tom Pearson, Dan Kelly, Manny Feyi-Waboso, and Freddie Steward, Italy’s Seb Negri, Scotland’s Sam Skinner, and Wales’ Aaron Wainwright, Christ Tshiunza, and current captain Daffyd Jenkins, to name just a few.
Among those that could line up for the eight sides on Friday 7th June are England U20 star Conor Byrne, GB7s flyer Austin Emens, Wales 7s’ Iwan Pyrs-Jones, Scarlets’ Will Plessis, and many many more.
Indeed such is the talent on show that GB 7s have committed to attending the event and intend to selected 5-7 players from the tournament to compete for GB in Rugby Europe this summer, cementing the pathway from University rugby to International 7s. Those watching on Friday night may well be seeing a number of future Gallagher Premiership stars or future GB 7s stars, perhaps competing at the L.A. Olympics in 2028.
They will not be the only future Olympians on show, on the whistle is HSBC SVNS referee George Selwood, who will be refereeing at the Paris Olympics this summer, while there will be international referees from Japan and Australia as well.
For those attending in person rather than watching on the live stream there is set to be a real festival atmosphere, with bars, food trucks, and DJs alongside the brilliant action on the field and the tournament has made a special effort to connect with U18s and to highlight the pathway from the school game to the University game, offing entry for just £5 for U18s and the opportunity to meet with Directors of Rugby from the 8 competing BUCS Super Rugby sides.
Those that buy their tickets (including Students and Adult tickets) TODAY will also receive 15% of tickets to the Gallagher Premiership Final the following day, Saturday 8th June. Rosslyn Park University 7s ticket purchases will come with a unique code giving 15% off Category 2 tickets for the final at Twickenham – but the offer expires at 6pm so move fast!
Tickets can be purchased here: www.rpu7.co.uk
