By apb
July 9 2005

Yes, folks, its not long now until the turning point of the off-season is with us, the 3rd Annual fat Bloke Sevens. Inaugorated in 2002, the Fat Bloke Sevens has quickly become a regular fixture on the calendar of the discerning rugby fan.

Those of us who are too old, too fat and/or too stupid to know any better will be taking part once again. The Leeds Lardies will be attempting to represent the honour of Leeds Tykes fans, showing those soft southerners exactly how we do rugby up here.

The fun starts from Friday 22nd July, when the teams, coaches, supporters, groupies and hangers-on start arriving, pitching tents in the extensive grounds of Reading Abbey RFC and frequenting the club bar. An early night awaits the weary traveller (or not), and an early start on the Saturday morning, where captain and forward legend Timofe will lead the Lardies in their usual 6.30am warm-up exercises (or not).

The rugby tournament is due to start at 10.00am, and will continue throughout the day, with the finals being held on the main pitch, sometime that afternoon. During the day there will be loads of other things to do for the not-so-rugby oriented hangers on, particulalry the young children, with bouncy castles and other attractions, including a hog-roast, and a charidee stall selling all manor of old rugby shirts - please bring your (clean) unwanted, unloved, torn and generally abused shirts along for resale!.

Once the final has been won for the Lardies, the rest of the night is our own, where the bar will be open, the bands will play and the disco will be heard long into the night. Sunday sees a good hangover cure fry-up, and slowly, and sadly, we will all make our separate ways home or onwards.

So, if you fancy an excellent weekend of ludicrous sport, beer, dancing and entertainment for the kiddies, come on down to the Fat Bloke Sevens, and support the most northerly team ever to take part!

For The Players

Make sure you have got adequate players' insurance - Sportscoverdirect.com do a single days' cover at reasonable prices.

For All Attendees

Please let us know what facilities you'll require; there are two campsites available in the grounds - a familiy oriented "quiet" area, and a not-so-quiet area located close to the clubhouse. Please post on the messageboard how many will be staying, what days you will be staying overnight, and any other questions you need answers to.

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