The Singapore Cricket Club International Rugby Sevens (SCC 7s) is back for the 71st edition this weekend, and promises to be an up-close spectator experience and an exciting tournament for local rugby fans.

Photo credit to SCC.

Organised by the SCC, this is the third oldest 7s tournament in the world today, and the SCC 7s has established itself as an iconic elite tournament with its signature location and vibrant party atmosphere. 

Said Sam Sharpe, Co-Chair of the Organising Committee for this year’s tournament, “The challenge is always to deliver something befitting of a 71-year-old tournament and we hope that the tournament will do that this year for everyone, from us volunteers to the fans to the players.”

The 2018 event will be taking place this weekend, from Friday 2 November to Sunday 4 November – at a purpose-built festival arena at the Padang, capable of holding more than 5,000 fans.

World class teams from all over the world 

And this year, 12 world-class teams from around the world will be competing for the prestigious Ablitt Cup, in the tournament that is also affectionally dubbed as the ‘Friendly Sevens’ with legends like the late Jonah Lomu, Eric Rush, Tana Umaga and Cecil Africa having graced the Padang in past years, on their way to rugby stardom.

Return of Daveta Rugby Club

This year will see a return of Fijian powerhouses Daveta Rugby Club, who will, once again, start as the pre-tournament favourites, having won the first Ablitt Cup in 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2011 as well as 2012 and after a defeat in the final to the French Development side last season the Fijians are oozing with confidence at their chances of capturing the cup again.

Said Venioa Vuki, 27, Daveta captain, “We will win again. I strongly believe that we can win this year. Good luck to the opposition. We are confident and there is no team that intimidates us. We will take every game seriously, especially the first game and the final.”

He added, “Our motto, going into the games, will be to respect everyone, fear no-one, take everyone seriously and give them our best game all the time.”

Training together twice daily 

Since arriving in Singapore, Daveta have been training together twice a day, in the mornings and the afternoons. Said Vuki, “We have been practising the skills and passing drills that will help us in this tournament and we are looking forward to the matches.”

Ponsonby Rugby Football Club Fancy their Chances 

Bringing the fight to Daveta will be Ponsonby Rugby Football Club from New Zealand. They are arguably one of the most successful clubs from the Land of the Long White Cloud with the greatest number of All Blacks produced.

Said William Talataina, 23, captain of Ponsonby, “If you do not come here with the intention to win, you have come to the wrong tournament. We want to win of course, but we will have to go through the process to do it.”

He added, “We will approach one game at a time and take it tackle by tackle, run by run, ruck by ruck, and we hope that this will win us games and then hopefully by 6pm on Sunday night, we will be playing in that final.”

Welcome return after a six-year absence 

This year, the Ponies are making a welcome return to the tournament after a long absence and will be coached by former All Black Kevin Senio, who played both 15s and 7s for New Zealand. 

Added Talataina, “Our team has been training together for a while but we have a few new faces who were with us for the last week before we left for Singapore. Prior to our arrival in Singapore, we had a good week of training in New Zealand and when we got here, we had two training sessions on Wednesday and this morning, so we have had time to gel.”

He continued, “The 7s game is about gelling together as a squad; if we cannot gel, it will show on the field but if we can, then we will score some tries this weekend. We may have been away from this tournament for a while but we are back now, and we will go out there and perform to the best of our abilities.”

Though Talataina admitted that the Ponies do not know an awful lot of information or details about their opposition this weekend, their captain stressed that they are not intimidated by anyone.  

Said Talataina, “We have a sound squad so we have fresh minds. None of the boys know too much about what to expect, so we will be going in with all guns blazing.” 

He added, “But I guess you cannot look past the French team though, because they won it last year, and Davetta have had a great run too – we know what threat they will be, on the field.”

Singapore Cricket Club team are the underdogs 

Also part of the tournament will be the Singapore Cricket Club team, a firm mainstay of the competition since its inauguration. They may be the underdogs, but their team captain Michael Oliver stresses that in 7s rugby, it is unpredictable and anything can happen.

Said Oliver, 27, “We are the host team so we have been in this since it began. We’ve been training hard for the past three months and we see this as a great chance to play against world class teams from around the world to see how we match up.”

He added, “I think that the fact that we are here, proves to people that we can compete on this stage. We hope to do ourselves and the club proud. Many people say that we do not have a chance, but we are aiming to win this, as every team here is. We will definitely be giving it our best shot. Davetta and Ponsonby will not be easy, but we are planning to take each game as it comes and we hope that we can prove a few people wrong.”

Singaporeans can hold their own 

Oliver also pointed out that that Singapore team held their own at last season’s tournament, losing their three group games by five to seven points.

He added, “That was frustrating but we proved that we can compete, and we hope that this time around, it will be five to seven points in our favour. If everything goes well on Saturday, then we will have a chance against some of the top teams in the final. We are looking forward to it.”

Famed Guinness Bar is back 

Besides the rugby action, the famed Guinness Bar will also be present at the SCC 7s and this will be located in the public gallery.

Said tournament director Matthew Oakley, 53, “The Guinness Bar will be open till 9pm in the evening and they have been a mainstay of Singapore’s annual rugby party at the historic Padang for many years now. We hope that this will continue to encourage people to come down.”

Kids are not left out of the entertainment 

And while adults enjoy pints of Guinness, the children can enjoy their time at The Fry Group Kids Zone which is complete with inflatables, play areas with chaperones and fun activities such as clay modelling and face painting, as well as free popcorn and candy floss.

Added Oakley, “The Fly Group Kids Zone will also be going on all day, to keep the young ones thoroughly entertained while their parents enjoy the rugby action.”

As well, the more active kids can also enjoy free rugby specific kids clinics by UFIT Singapore.

Tournament Schedule 

The Schools & Colleges and Corporate Touch pool matches kick off today (Friday 2 October) and the Main Tournament for the Ablitt Cup begins on Saturday. 

Then the finals of the Len Foster Trophy for schools under age 14, John Clark Shield for schools aged under 16, Sithawalla Cup for Schools & Colleges aged under 19, together with the final rounds of the Ablitt Cup, will all culminate on Sunday.

Where to buy tickets 

Tickets are available both online at www.apactix.com and at the door. Online tickets are priced at S$20 for a three day adult pass and S$10 for under 18s. All online ticket purchases are also inclusive of a S$1 booking fee. 

However, an adult pass will be S$30 when purchased at the door from 3 November.