Last Thursday the Marr College S1 7s squad made the short trip up the M77 to Norwood for the annual Hutchesons' Grammar S1 7s Tournament. This was the squads first ever taste of 7s Rugby so there were a few anxious faces on the bus up.

We were drawn in a challenging pool with George Heriots School, Morrison's Academy & Stewarts Melville College. The opening fixture of the day was against George Heriots and the boys quickly got used to the 7s format, keeping the ball alive in the tackle and moving it around really freely. Aryann McGuffie was loving the open spaces and showed his pace as he burst down the touchline for the opening score of the day. Marr kicked on from there and further scores from James Drummond and Oscar Naismith meant the boys came away 34-5 winners.

Round 2 against Morrison's was a really challenging match for the boys. Our opposition played some great 7s, keeping the ball alive and forcing us to defend for almost the entire first half. The match was evenly poised at half time but the boys broke the game open in the second half with more powerful running from Oscar, great speed from Aryann & excellent drop kick conversions from Ruaridh Pattie to secure a 29-5 victory.

Onto the final pool fixture against Stew Mel. They were a really well drilled side who moved the ball accurately from wing to wing, stretching our defence but the boys commitment to keep working hard for each other was outstanding. It was nail biting at times with Stew Mel always staying in the game but the crucial moment came in the final minute, with only 3 points in it Oscar got the ball on the left and went on a charging run which burst the Stew Mel defence and secured the win, 38-28.

The boys secured the pool win which set up a Semi Final with Dollar Academy. This was another really tight affair and the boys commitment and fitness really shone through. More great footwork and blistering pace allowed Aryann to grab the first 2 scores of the game which were expertly converted by Ruaridh. Dollar kept up the pressure and got the game back to all square before Captain Drummond scored a crucial try which was followed up by the final score from Harrison Martin who's defence was a huge part of the win. 28-19.

This set up a final with George Watson's College, after 4 tough games of 7s you could have forgiven the lads for being a bit tired but they didn't show it! A nervy first half saw Marr go in 17-12 ahead after scores from James, Ciaran Moncrieff & Aryann. The half time team talk from the coaches must have been their best of the day because the boys came out supercharged and ran in tries at will, scores from Aryann, James & a hat trick from Ruraidh secured the victory, 43-19!

What an incredible day out for the boys! Alex, Kevin, Alan & myself couldn't be any more proud of the effort and commitment put in by all 10 of the boys.