By Andy Phillpot
July 8 2003

On Sunday 10th August, the tranquil surroundings of Henley-on-Thames will be taken over by the Henley International Sevens and this years inaugural "Fat Bloke Sevens" where the supporters of clubs around the country gather to try their hand at the game they love so much. Last year, a crowd from London Irish turned up, just for a barbecue by the river, and found it to be one of their best days out of the year.
The Henley International Sevens runs from 10.30-19.00 and then the evening goes on as long as you want it to.

The tournament participants include Young England, British Army, Northampton Saints, West Indies and Uganda among many others. As it is on a Sunday, many people consider taking the Monday off and staying in Henley. There are numerous Bed & Breakfasts in the area but a popular option is simply to take a tent and camp in the field by the river. This is what I shall be doing as it is cheaper and doesn't restrict to drinking-up time or catching a train.

The "Fat Bloke Sevens" is a brand new tournament created by the warped minds of our friends at London Irish after their time at the 2002 tournament. Not satisfied with a relaxing day by the river with a few drinks and some good rugby, they decided to embarrass people as well by finding the most unfit people they could and making them run around in front of a crowd. There will be 16 teams of supporters from various clubs around the country (including we at Sarries) and although the general standard of rugby should be quite bad, it will be great fun.

Last year, there was a tent selling Guinness and Pimms, but apart from that, the Henley Sevens is a bring your own booze affair, but I'm sure that is no problem to seasoned professionals.

There is an entry fee to the Henley Sevens itself of £10, however, those who are playing in the Fat Bloke Sevens do not have to pay this. Personally, I am going to pay anyway as Henley RFC have provided us with their pitches at no cost so I don't see why we should get free entry as well.

Finally, I am going to start a roll call on the message board for everyone who is going or thinking of going to this event, as I need to know approximate numbers for the organisers. I would appreciate if you could all please leave the relevant info on there.