Millfield take the honours following poor start

MILLFIELD kicked off their 2023 7s campaign in style as they were crowned champions at the South Coast 7s last weekend in the first major tournament of the school season.

Having lost their opening two games to Epsom College and reigning champions Brighton in the group stages, Millfield avenged the early defeats by beating both schools in the knockouts on route to lifting the trophy at Portsmouth Grammar School.

Lead coach on the day, Oli Hobman, praised his side’s ability to bounce back following their slow start as they won four straight games to end the tournament.

He said: “The difference from where we started and where we ended in terms of the game that we played was ridiculous - it was night and day.”

Despite Epsom College scoring 113 points in their opening four victories, Millfield held them to just five in the semi-final before taking down Brighton College to seal the deal.

The 19-15 triumph in the final saw Millfield field a starting team consisting of all lower sixth students, making it their first real experience at a major 7s tournament.

Hobman further characterised the 21-15 win over Canford in Millfield’s final group game as the key turning point.

He said: “There was a different kind of attitude towards that game and they were expressing themselves more. They started to have a bit of belief in each other.”

Elsewhere, St Paul’s won the HABS Rugby 7s Festival at Haberdashers’ Elstree, beating in-form Stowe in the final.

In a tournament which saw the winners of each group of five go through to the final, St Paul’s 30-5 win over reigning champions Hurstpierpoint in their final group game rounded off a clean sweep of wins to finish top of group B.

Entering the final, St Paul’s had conceded just 20 points before beating Stowe, who also went unbeaten in the groups.