Coventry Wyverns 26-20 Avon Knights
Coventry WyvernsTRY: Caerofim (2) 2' c, 13' c
CON: Debenham (2/2) 3', 14'
PEN: Debenham (4/4) 4', 5', 11', 12'Avon Knights
TRY: Gordon 8' c, 11' c[/tab]
CON: Gordon (2/2) 9', 12'
PEN: Gordon (2/2) 6', 10'
The Avon Knights and the Coventry Wyverns, two of the biggest rivals in the ERC, faced off against each other in the cup final, the former following a 24-14 win over Davenport and the latter by beating a surprisingly strong Edgebaston team 19-18. As both teams had topped their groups (Avon with a clean sweep whereas Coventry had a late draw to the Rosetta Sparrows), it was a game that could go either way, although due to their performance throughout the tournaments Avon were tipped to be the slight favourites to win.
The match itself was just as hotly-contested as you'd expect. Mical Caerofim, in his last sevens tournament before his eventual retirement at the end of next season, scored the first try of the match, which fly-half Paul Debenham converted, followed by a brace of penalties to give his side a 13-0 lead within the first minutes. However, Avon weren't down an out as a penalty from Jim Gordon made it 13-3, which would remain the score going into the break. Coupled with a growingly-complacent Wyverns team, Gordon went on a scoring streak by not only scoring a converted try but also a second penalty for his side to make the scored level. Debenham would score a second load of penalties to regain a 19-13 lead for his side but a second try from Gordon, which he converted, made it 20-19 for the visitors. Fortunately, Caerofim would complete his second try shortly before time and, when coupled with another successful conversion from Debenham, meant that the Coventry Wyverns won the ERC 7s Cup, which would be the first bit of silverware in what turned out to be a successful season for them.
Auckhampton Birch Trees 9-17 Elejamie City EaglesAuckampton Birch Trees
PEN: Grady (3/3) 2', 5', 9'Elejamie City Eagles
TRY: Hayden (2) 6' c, 12'c
CON: Fenech (2/2) 7', 13'
PEN: Fenech (1/3) 11'
Following a 17-14 win over a drab Murgon Bullfrogs sevens team, the Elejamie City Eagles made it into their first final since the Cup final in the inaugural ERC 7s. There, they faced tract-wide rivals Auckhampton, who were hot off the heels of a 26-14 win against the local Rosetta Sparrows. Despite captain Rob Magrette being out for most of the tournament due to a sprained ankle, the Elejamie City Eagles were still a powerful side, placing third in their group just behind Avon and Edgebaston but ahead of Auckhampton, thanks to a 21-14 win for the Eagles during the Saturday group stage games.
The match itself wasn't as action-packed as the cup final but still provided some brilliant action. Paul Grady opened up the scoring for the Birch Trees thanks to a penalty from 47m out, which became the furthest penalty kick taken at the ERC 7s, beating the previous record by a single metre. He'd double up thanks to a second penalty, albeit from a more modest 36m, before Patrick Hayden scored the first try of the match for the Eagles, slotting the ball down in between the posts and letting Louis Fenech net the extras to make it 7-6 going into the break. While Grady netted his third and final penalty a couple of minutes after the break, Fenech would regain the lead for the Eagles with a penalty of his own to make it 10-9, having failed two attempts to do so in the first half, before Patrick Hayden would put the final nail in the coffin with his second try of the evening, which Fenech also converted. Despite Auckhampton pushing the Elejamie City defence to their limits, the Eagles managed to run the ball into touch to win 17-9 and net them the Plate trophy.
Coventry Jesters 23-0 RC Los ReyesCoventry Jesters
TRY: Laidham (2) 1' m, 7' m
Grainger 10' m
Kubisz 13' m
CON: Grainger (0/4)
PEN: Grainger (1/2) 4'RC Los Reyes
N/A
After making it to the ERC after being relegated at the end of the 2004/05 season, the Coventry Jesters were hoping to make every minute of it count and try and get off on as best of a foot as they could. However, that wasn't to be as they'd proceed to lose every single game of the group stage, including a 22-5 loss to group-mates Los Reyes, meaning they'd have to compete for the Bowl. However, they were able to make a massive comeback and defeat the Alvis Rams 13-8 to make it to the Bowl final, where they'd have a rematch against Los Reyes, who were hot off the heels of a 30-3 destruction of the Davenport Commandos, who had lost some key players due to injuries.
However, the Jesters would make a massive turnaround from their first match against the Playa de Rocas-based team as Chris Laidham would go on to score the first try for the capital's second team, with John Grainger unable to score the extras. He would, however, make up for it a few minutes later with a penalty to make it 8-0. Laidham would score again going past the 7 minute mark but, due to where he grounded the ball, Grainger was unable to convert it again and the score remained 13-0 going into the break. Despite Los Reyes showing a bit more bite in the second half, even getting the ball into the Jesters' 22 on numerous occasions, it turned out be Coventry who's score the next set of points ten minutes into the match when John Grainger scored a try himself, although his effort ended up hitting the posts and into touch. Los Reyes came close to a try of their own a minute later when Raimundo Calandra made it past the try line but he accidentally fumbled the ball and Jesters sevens hooker Frank Gerstmann put the ball out of play. Arkadiusz Kubisz would score the fourth and final try for the Jesters' and, while it also wasn't converted, it was still enough to secure his side a 23-0 victory and, with that, their first bit of silverware since the start of the professional era.