Dazzling action

Sevens rugby will provide plenty of actionpacked viewing at Bedford Park on Saturday.

An open sevens rugby tournament will be held at United Matamata Sport this weekend.

The annual UMS 7s open tournament will be held at Bedford Park on Saturday, December 5 featuring a raft of top class players including international teams from China, both mens and womens.

Two Waikato 7s mens premier teams will be in town to have a hitout ahead of the national competition in Rotorua in mid January.

Three local teams, two from UMS and one from Hinuera, will also go into battle. A total of four womens teams and 12 mens teams will be in action on the day.

UMS Senior A captain and former Chiefs player Alex Bradley encourages the whole family to head down to Bedford Park on Saturday to enjoy the thrill of sevens rugby. He will be playing in the tournament himself.

This year’s event will be the second time the tournament has been held in Matamata. Organisers are hoping to host it annually.

The day is being pitched as a family day and will feature a sausage sizzle. During the lunch break, a tug of war competition will be held for both men and women. Tournament organiser Allen Pryor said the tug of war competition was also open to the public. ‘‘Bring ten giants if you want, it’s just a bit of fun.’’ The winner, of both the mens and womens categories, will walk away with $100 in prize money.

The day has been supported by local businesses including J Swap Stockfoods, Matamata Butchery, Matamata Glass and Joinery and Paul Jones Contracting.

The first kickoff is at 10am. Play will continue through to 4pm.