VALHALL 7'S 2005

Bergen Boys make it two in a row (this time without a Sarfie)!

The BRK mens team successfully defended their Oslo 7s title last Saturday night in what was a strong start to the 2005 season. Having gone through 2004 undefeated in 7s matches, the boys were keen to repeat the effort for this year. Sadly the first match of the night ended that dream.

Facing a strong East Coast Barbarians 2 side the BRK team, consisting of nine men of varying ages, speed, skill and hheight (hmmm, Karl), were outmuscled 14-12. So much for our undefeated status. However, after some inspiring words from captain Derek Johnson the boys rallied over the next two pool games to easily beat Trondheim 33-12 and Stavanger 43-0 and advance to the semifinals as runners-up in Group B.

With the potential tournament favourites in East Coast Barbarians 1 looming as our semi-final opponents the boys knew a big effort was needed and duly obliged with the best performance of the night running out 22-12 winners. Included in the sterling performance was one particular try which can only be described as "golden". With the ball handling, running and tackling now approaching the desired level the boys entered the final against a strong Oslo side full of hope.

A strong first half saw three converted tries take the scoreline out to 21-0 at halftime but some lazy defence and poor options saw Oslo rally late scoring three tries of their own only to fall short at the buzzer with BRK emerging victorious 21-15.

Knowing that the side had won the trophy for the second year on the trot was made even more sweet when someone pointed out that there was not one South African in the squad - thus lifting everyone's spirits.

On the women's ledger, they began their season as though they had been doing nothing but eating chocolate and drinking beer for 4 months (much like the men) opening with a 19-5 win over Oslo before suffering their biggest defeat ever going down to East Coast Barbarians 27-0. Only a tight 12-all draw against Trondheim enabled them to make it through to the final where they showed a markedly improved performance to narrowly go down 14-12 to a strong East Coast Barbarians outfit.

Overall it was again a great tournament well organised by ORK and provided a good kickstart to the 2005 season.

BRK winners
Derek Johnson (c)
Karl Frisch
Hamish Esplin
Willie Wilson
Samir Sayed-Ahmed
Andy Navy
Dave Benjamin
Dave Hume
Christian Dahl