Rocky lands KO punch in the 7s
AN injury time try from All Black sevens star Rocky Khan secured a third successive GB7s title for elite outfit Samurai in the Grand Final Colwyn Bay’s Parc Eirias.
And there was also plenty for the home crowd to cheer with three RGC players on the scoresheet during the day and Welsh Charitables having their best finish in the three-round tour.
A try from Welshman Chris Banfield helped Samurai to a 29-24 victory over Irish Wolfhounds in the final but it was Khan who stole the show with a quickfire treble.
The 26-year-old skipper said: “It was good to score the hat-trick as the boys had been giving me a bit of grief, asking when I was going to open up and score some tries. Luckily for me I was able to do it right at the end and had the legs to finish things off.”
Last week’s winners Apache won their third place play-off against Newcastle Wailers, who included RGC’s Huw Grundy in their line-up, and the Plate winners were Scottish outfit CoOptimist, one of five sides who went into the competition as possible champions.
The Welsh Charitables finished sixth on the day – their best yet – with Aaron Evans leading the way with six tries while his RGC team-mate Afon Bagshaw dotted down twice.
And Forces Exiles, with former Wales Sevens international Mike Collins in their ranks, won their first match in the competition – a nail-biting 27-26 victory ensuring England picked up the wooden spoon.
Meanwhile, pupils from Rydal Penrhos Prep School were among youngsters who enjoyed an unforgettable experience when the 7s rugby stars came to town.
Several high-profile players were in North Wales for the GB7s Series decider in Colwyn Bay so community tournament organiser Marcus Copeland arranged for a few of them to visit the school and run a special training session for the children.
The following day, teams from Ysgol Bro Gwydir, Ysgol Bro Cernyw and Rydal Penrhos played on the main pitch at Eirias Park as a curtain raiser for the main event involving some of the best specialist 7s players in the country.
During the day, Copeland also asked his friend, England 7s star Dan Bibby, to train with the boys in the indoor barn at Eirias followed by a question and answer session. The day before the 7s competition, Copeland arranged for 7s specialists Tyson Lewis, Andy Bulumakau and Gareth Kerr to visit Rydal Penrhos to give the children a unique insight into the sport.
Copeland said: “They were actually due to come into school at 4pm but instead arrived in the morning and spent the whole day watching and supporting both the pre-prep and prep school sports day.”