May 1996: 10th annual Benidorm (Spain) Sevens
Ireland wins 10th Annual
Benidorm Sevens
A Benidorm Sevens loaded with nine national sides
preparing to qualify for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 1997 was won
by a strong Ireland side that walked easily through all the
competition. Wing Richard Wallace was phenomenal and easily
deserved the MVP title that he was awarded.
Round Robin
Of the 12 teams in the international bracket, only
three -- last year’s finalists Atlantis and the Welsh Wizards, as
well as the French Froggies -- were not full national sides. The
four 3-team brackets were:
Ireland
|
Italy
|
Namibia
|
Spain
|
Switzerland
|
Ukraine
|
Portugal
|
Russia
|
Atlantis
|
Wizards
|
Hungary
|
Froggies
|
The nine national teams were all preparing for their appearances
at world cup qualifiers this year. Two -- Russia and Italy -- will
not have to qualify until Dubai, but the other seven went directly
onto Lisbon for the following week’s qualifier. Four -- Ireland,
Spain, Portugal and Namibia -- qualified and will be in Hong Kong
next year. Ukraine was a strong ninth (eight qualified)..
Two teams from each bracket went through to the Cup, and the third
place team went to the Plate along with the quarterfinal losers.
There were two other divisions -- senior clubs and junior clubs.
Sadly, the women’s division, won by Atlantis in its only
appearance, seems to be a thing of the past.
Ireland
Ireland walked through the international division of
the tournament, beating first Atlantis, then Switzerland, then
Namibia, the Froggies, and finally the Wizards (40-17) without
missing a beat.
The most exciting game of the tournament, however, was the Plate
final between Spain and Italy. Spain came back from a huge deficit
to tie Italy in regulation, and the game was well into its second
five-minute overtime period before Italy scored the game winner.
Both teams struggled off the field after the 38-33 scorcher.
Atlantis
Despite being the defending champion, Atlantis came
to this tournament without great expectations: in a season where,
in six men’s tournaments, we had already used 46 players, and on a
final four weekend following a sweet sixteen weekend where many
players’ resources were drained, we went through more than 20
changes, seven in the final week, ending up with a young squad
lacking a lot of sevens experience.
On top of that, we lost both our wings in training on the two days
prior to the tournament.
Still, we were a good team: we could have done better . . .
The Atlantis squad for the
Benidorm Sevens was
Atl #
|
Name
|
Club
|
291
|
Mike Cleary
|
Seattle
|
268
|
Scott Davis
|
Phila/Whitemarsh
|
78
|
John Flamish
|
Phila/Whitemarsh
|
270
|
Jason Maloni
|
Maryland Exiles
|
292
|
Brian O'Grady
|
New York
|
244
|
Ryan Peyroux
|
Life College
|
134
|
Greg Schor
|
Life College
|
293
|
Storm Singleton
|
Life College
|
294
|
Jon Velie
|
Oklahoma
|
96
|
Barry Williams
|
Los Angeles
|
Thursday, in a scrimmage against Ukraine, Ryan Peyroux twinged his
hamstring, which was to last less than 10 minutes against
Switzerland before going for good as Ryan scored his second try.
On Friday, superstar Barry Williams, finally back in form after a
series of injuries, twisted his knee against Italy. Although
Barry, through the magic of Namibian physiotherapist Lambert Fick,
was amazingly able to play on Sunday, it was clear he wasn’t
ready.
So, with prop Greg Schor and newcomer to sevens Seattle fly half
Mike Cleary forced to step in at wing, we muddled through the
weekend, defeating Switzerland in a far-too-close 21-19 match,
getting crushed by Ireland 48-7 (although the one try, by Brian
O’Grady, was a beauty), then losing to Portugal and Ukraine 26-10
and 26-7, respectively. (Ireland and Portugal were to qualify for
the World Cup the following weekend, and Ukraine finished 9th, one
out of the money.)
It was ironic that a team that began with five wings -- including
Thad Hill, Rob Anna, and Kevin Gittings, three of the fastest
players in the country -- ended up with none.
After a great 1995, 1996 has been a tough year for Atlantis, and a
great deal of that can be ascribed to the number of players we’ve
had to use, not gaining a lot of continuity.
We’re going to step back and chart Atlantis’ course for the
future: either a) accept fewer invitations or b) expand the
Atlantis organization, adding coaching and management staff as
well as finding a way to identify more players. Volunteers? I
intend to take out a paid advertisement shortly in Rugby to
address this issue and ask for help!
Benidorm Sevens moves to
Benidorm
The Benidorm Sevens, which actually took place in
the neighboring town of Villajoyosa during its first nine years,
actually moved to Benidorm itself this year, to the local soccer
field. Despite its proximity to the British tourists, however, the
tournament still struggled to increase the number of spectators,
which probably hovered around 1000. Still, it’s only the first
year of a bold new direction, and combined with a more
professional attitude towards the tournament organization, we all
have great hopes for the future of the event.
Recognition and thanks
Firstly, thanks to Al Caravelli for making this tour
happen. Ultimately unable to travel with us due to work
difficulties, Al managed to make it possible for us to have 10
solid players to field a team, which turned
out to be the most daunting challenge of all!
John Hansborough of East Carolina U’s rugby team, a half Spaniard
visiting family, stopped in and took care of managerial chores on
Saturday, freeing me to worry.
As usual, kudos to organizer Ignacio Davila and his wife Mayka for
taking on the lion’s share of the work for this event.
As noted above, Barry Williams was able to play 2 days after a
knee injury, due only to the great deal of time alloted him by
Namibian physiotherapist Lambert Fick, who deserves special
recognition.
Finally, thanks from all the Atlanteans to Taff’s Bar proprietors
Reg and Brenda Jones, as well as to all the ladies from Loughor,
Wales, that supported us throughout the tournament, despite advice
to the contrary from their Welsh Wizard countrymen. They also
taught us both verses (as well as the chorus) to the Neath fight
song
Namibia
Although Atlantis left Benidorm on a 3 AM bus
following the tournament, I stayed on until Thursday. Whereas my
original intent was to visit family, I somehow latched on to the
Namibian team, attended their practices for the next couple of
days, conducted a couple of team meetings and dispensed my
ever-present opinions. By the time we parted ways, I had become
attached to the Namibian players and their efforts and I was glad
to see them among the eight qualified teams to emerge from the
Lisbon Sevens.
I’ve sometimes found it difficult to deal with “life after the
Eagles”, but this experience combined with my Portuguese trip
(described elsewhere in this issue) was exceptionally gratifying
-- to be appreciated on the international scene is a very
rewarding and humbling experience.