A sunny day greeting the ERREA Wolfpack 7s at Windsor with the royal flag waving, evidently the Queen was watching a bit of rugby banter with a slight breeze adding nicely to what would be a great day of rugby. Prior to this however, the pack had suffered a major set-back of 11 players pulling out throughout the planning stages of this tournament due to injuries, call-ups & commitments. Not ideal. Nevertheless, with calls ongoing till late Friday evening the pack put out a team to take on all oncomers.

The pack were in 'Group D', with the; Covent Brothers, The Pretenders, Phantoms and Apache Academy. A tough group with 7s specialists the Apache and last years runners up the Covent Brothers.

The pack began with a simple walkover against The Pretenders as they suffered a lack of players issue and did not arrive to compete on time. This led to the Wolfpack's first game against the Apache Academy. A tough first opposition. The pack howled into action however, leading the charge with scores evenly close with a hatrick of tries from flyer Tom Barnes. The match however was decided as 21-19 to the Apache after the referee 'missed' a Wolfpack conversion but declared it missed....a difficult pill to swallow in such an even game which deserved a draw as both sides played equally well.

After this the pack went on to play the Covent Brothers who showed their strength and pace finishing off the game at the death with a try to finish 26-14. The Phantoms were in similar fashion also, flair and pace taking the game to the pack.

With group stages over, the Wolfpack proceeded to the Shield which saw them drawn against Jerry Collins Guns - a team who's performances were more random than the French. Nevertheless, the pack took no chances, putting out their strongest team despite injuries to 4 key players. The game was dominated by the Wolfpack however as Elliott Brown & Jayde Cruickshank showed their class scoring 2 tries apiece with Elliotts trademark try-celebratory roly-poly entertaining the crowds.

Overall, a lesson learnt for the ERREA Wolfpack 7s. Alot of young talent was brought in to give the younger pups a chance to shine. Taking home again a trophy is another sign of great things to come at Bournemouth 7s and RugbyRocks.

Pack player of the Tournament: Tom Barnes.
Special Mentions for Performances: Ant Braithwaite, Jayde Cruickshank & Elliott Brown.
Special Mention for f-up: Jason Kay.

After a frantic few months with the pack scouting new talent, searching for tournaments and creating innovations of money spinning ideas while proactively looking to support the Henry Fraser Trust - we come to the business end.

The Wolf Chief is proud to announce our affiliation and new team name; ERREA Wolfpack 7s. ERREA are a leading designer in technical equipment for athletes, while also we welcome Nutrition X and TopMarqueSports onboard. With fantastic kit designs, tee shirts, hoodies, the list goes on - it's exciting times for those who love their rugby stash! A on-line shop will soon be placed onto the website which players and fans alike can purchase kit items. Please be aware, a small amount of the total price will go to charity - every little helps.

Tournaments tournaments tournaments. Invitations to over 60 tournaments worldwide and the e-mails continue to flow into the Wolf Chiefs inbox. We commit only to the best tournaments we percieve to challenge our players, give our supporters excellent rugby and entertainment while also looking to achieve our ultimate goal - raising finances, awareness and support for our charity. With this in mind, we have commited to two tournaments currently with more to follow shortly;

* Windsor 7s - 30th April - 1 team

* Bournemouth 7s -   28-30th May - 2 teams (1 National Cup, 1 Social Cup)

As previously mentioned, we are entering more tournaments and our objective for these tournaments are simple - win. Our selection of players is from grass-roots, to rising stars to internationally capped players. Current International players commited to the pack are: England, Scotland, Wales, Figi & S. Africa - the list continues to grow. We pride ourselves on developing all players and with our current playerbase, we are accomplishing this from grass-roots to pro.  

What are the ERREA Wolfpack 7s upto now?! I hear you cry - the Wolfbabes were let out of the lair and strutted their stuff with DK Capture Studio (website at the bottom) photographer David King taking breath-taking photos. Elsie (Marketing) organised 'The Talbot Pub Quiz' which was a roaring success with Bournemouth locals and students alike - raising lots of money for our cause while increasing awareness of Henry's Trust an excellent night which has been asked to be a regular event. The Wolf Chief is also in talks with BIG nightclubs in the Bournemouth area to launch a specific ERREA Wolfpack 7s night.... *hush hush*....for now......

More regular updates coming, player profiles, funny stories from the Wolves Lair and annoucements to follow. All the best and book your tickets for Tournaments now to support YOUR charity team.

Over & out,

Richie

Wolf Chief

DK Capture: www.dk-capture.com