Ollie Days - Bon Voyage

Ollie Phillips, IRB World 7s Player of the Year 2009, is about to embark on his toughest challenge to date... The Clipper Around the World Race. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the details let me enlighten you; The Clipper Race starts on Sunday 1st September from Tower Bridge in London, 12 crews will circumnavigate the world covering 40,000 miles taking  11 months and visiting 16 different ports. Many involved in last year’s race described it as the most ‘epic year of their lives’ and I’ve no doubt that Ollie, as part of Team GREAT Britain, savour every single moment of it – the good and bad! Ollie is undertaking this monumentous task to continue to raise awareness and funding for the Alzheimer’s Society. It is true Ollie Phillips style to choose something so huge and taxing in order to push himself to the limits and generate the most huge coverage and funds for his charity. If the Clipper Race wasn’t enough Ollie and a team of friends are off on a small, 379km, warm up cycle next week to Brussels before he joins the race in France on 9th September.

With so many challenging times ahead it was only right that Ollie was given a huge send off party and allowed to let his hair down before the serious work starts. Libertine (Old China Whites) was the venue... Rainbow Warrior was the theme and celebration was the order of the night. There were some strong pieces of Rainbow Warrior attire, including a very tight lycra rainbow top from Ollie’s former Stade teammate James Haskell, however it was Mr Phillips who stole the show. He was on superb form sporting an outrageous Foul Fashions Suit, one that I doubt he will be taking on the boat, however perhaps it might be useful to pull out during the more difficult points to put a smile on everyone’s face. The celebrations continued long into the night, the band belted out hit after hit, the drinks flowed and everyone there partied hard in true Ollie Days fashion.

I cannot sing the praises of Ollie Phillips enough, not only is he undertaking one of the most daunting tasks you can do, all for an outstanding cause, but he is also continuing to develop the sport he loves on the way. During his 40,000 mile race he will be leading a programme of rugby 7s events at many of the stopover destinations to continue to raise the profile of the sport. Don't worry, playing wise Ollie isn’t finished yet, his sights are firmly set on Team GB and Rio 2015.

Last night’s event was a fitting send off to a true legend who is doing outstanding things to raise awareness and funds for a charity so close to his heart. The total continues to rise for the Alzheimer’s Society (Just Giving Link Here) and to follow Ollie’s progress throughout his ride to Brussels and the 11 month Clipper Race with Team GREAT Britain head onto Twitter. 

All that is left to say now is Bon Voyage Mr Phillips... stay in touch and have the time of your life!

World Club Sevens - Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium will be hosting a major new 7s tournament this weekend - The World Club 7s. A few years ago the profile of 7s rugby was lower, with many people seeing it as a the mini, not quite as good, version of the full 15s game. Fast forward to the present and 7s is well and truly on everyone's radar all year around given the IRB World 7s Series, The JP Morgan 7s and most importantly its inclusion in the Olympics from 2016 onwards. In the build up the Rio 2016 there will be a series of new tournaments to provide players with extra competition and spectators with more chances to fall in love with this fantastic version of rugby.

This weekend 12 teams from all over the world will battle it out over 2 days to be crowned World Club 7s Champions. The format is as follows; 3 pools on day 1 before being divided into 3 cup competitions on Sunday. The top 2 from each of the Pools will qualify automatically for the Cup Quarter-Finals and the remaining 2 Cup Quarter-Final places will be given to the 2 highest ranked third placed teams from the three pools. The teams placed 9 to 12 following the Pool matches will play in the Shield. Simple right!!?! 

Pool A - Gloucester, Western Province, New York and VVA Moscow Region

Pool B - Buenos Aires, Northampton Saints, San Francisco, Blue Bulls

Pool C - ACT Brumbies, Auckland, Harlequins, Kuban Krasnador

Gloucester qualified for the tournament as winners of the JP Morgan 7s tournament last weekend with Northampton Saints and Harlequins being the other two UK representatives. The other countries represented are South Africa, Argentina, Russia, New Zealand and Australia. Also the USA have 2 teams - New York and San Francisco, with the team from San Francisco fielding the fastest man in World 7s Rugby - Carlin Isles. Carlin is an outstanding athlete, he has a 100m PB time of 10.13 seconds. This time would have secured him a place in the semi finals at London 2012, so I think that adds a bit of context as to just how rapid he is!!! He has only been playing 7s competitively since October 2012 on the World Series Circuit so he is still very much still learning and crafting his trade. He is definitely one to watch this weekend... for a sneak peak enjoy some his tries here for size!

Carlin Isles in action for USA

This tournament is not only about showcasing some outstanding professional 7s talent it is also about raising the profile of the game and providing upcoming players with opportunities to shine. Last Sunday there was a selection day at London Wasps' Training Ground where 50 hopefuls were put through their paces by ex England flanker Tom Rees and England 7s stars Tom Mitchell and Callum Wilson in an X Factor style selection day. Out of the 50 players 12 have been selected to make up the "Gilbert Barbarians Squad", see the full squad list here. The squad will play together and take on the Army in a full fixture, as well as having the opportunity to fill in for any of the club sides if players in their squads are injured and need to be replaced. This is exactly the type of initiative that will raise the profile of 7s rugby and indeed may find us some fantastic, hidden talent.

Already a European Club 7s tournament is in the pipeline and as we march towards Rio 2016 the profile of 7s rugby will continue to grow and let's hope that Team GB very quickly sort themselves out with a coach and get down to the hard graft of training for a Gold Medal.

To enjoy all of the World Club 7s Action this weekend head to the gorgeous Twickenham Stadium. I believe that tickets are still available through the usual sources - RFU.com, Ticketmaster so that you can enjoy another fabulous weekend of quality rugby. 

London Beach Rugby

Covent Garden is synonymous for its market, entertainers and being the home of the Royal Opera House, it is not normally known for its rugby. However for 2 days last week that all changed as the inaugural London Beach Rugby Tournament came to town. Across the 2 days 32 teams competed for the honour of being crowned London Beach Rugby Champions, the tournament was held in aid of the rugby charity Restart. Restart and the work that it does to help build players’ lives after career ending injuries is becoming increasingly important as intensity of the game builds and any awareness and support is extremely welcome. 

Friday was the Corporate Day, the day where the City Slickers replaced their suits for rugby kit and enjoyed the chance to throw themselves about, in the sand as opposed to across the trading floor, and have a legtimiate day off, all in the name of charity. On Saturday it was the turn of the invitational club teams to show their skills, needless to say Saturday’s quality of rugby, and kits, did slightly eclipse their corporate counterparts! 

The rules of the Beach Rugby were simple, 5 players, 3 touches = turnover ball, lots of sand and inflatable sides to ensure the Ashton splashes were thrown about left right and centre. 

Arriving on Saturday afternoon it was clear that the beach vibes were being embraced, there were flip flops galore and shirtless rugby men everywhere, ladies it really was full of visual treats! On the pitch the teams were fiercely competitive with some intense games and quality beach rugby being played. The tournament attracted its fair share of household names including Alex Goode, Charlie Walker and Charlie Matthews all keen to support Restart and enjoy some of the sunshine and rugby. The Doom Bar was in full flow all day supplying the hundreds of spectators and players with ale samples all day! Beach Rugby is thirsty work and the nature of the inflatable sides of the pitch meant that there were Ashton’esque dives left, right and centre as well as many players ending ‘overboard’ much to the hilarity of their teammates and all of the spectators. 

It was the invitational side Stash France who finished the day on top, playing in the final against Bruichladdich Bandits in a fast paced encounter… the match, preceded by the national anthems, was a fantastic way to top an epic two days of Beach Rugby. Covent Garden was restored to its usual state by 9pm on Saturday evening, with not a trace of sand in sight. As I said before Restart is a fantastic charity, one that can never be given enough support, therefore anything that helps to raise its profile and finances is fantastic. Such was the success of this tournament I know that plans are in place to take the Beach on the road and certainly to be back in Covent Garden next year. 

View here to see more Restart events:  http://restartrugby.org.uk/events/ Personally I am quite excited by the Rugby World Cup 10^th Anniversary Dinner  and the England vs. Australia Legends Game at the Stoop.

Ollie Phillips – Ollie Days

Ollie Phillips is best known for tearing it up on a rugby pitch, as a former England 7s man and player at Newcastle Falcons, Stade Francais and Gloucester he delighted us for years with his skill and talent on the field… however now it is his dedication off the field which we should all be applauding. Ollie has set his sights on raising as much money and awareness as possible for the Alzheimer’s Society after his grandmother very sadly passed away earlier this year. Last night marked the next event in a series of fundraising days and activities all of which are known as Ollie Days. The last Ollie Day was a Lions Brunch at the Henley Regatta;  a fabulous affair where guests rubbed shoulders with the current England Captain Chris Robshaw, enjoyed the delights of the Regatta and the outstanding 3rd Lions test, whilst raising a huge amount of money. 

Ollie Days already have a legendary reputation and this meant that last night the No1 Sports Bar on City Road was full to bursting with guests eager to have a great night… with the promise of beer pong, a ‘man auction’ and a few current/ex rugby players around it is no wonder that there wasn’t a spare ticket in sight. Speaking to the man himself it is clear just how much Ollie Days and raising awareness and funds for this outstanding cause means to Ollie and last night was a great way for him to enjoy a more relaxed fundraising night before he takes on some of his bigger challenges. 

Firstly there a 'small' 379km bike ride at the beginning of September. The ride will take Ollie and his team from London to Brussels in just 4 days, ending at the Brussels Beer Festival for some well-deserved re-hydration and rest! After that Ollie takes it one step further, distance wise, with the Around the World Sailing Clipper Race. Ever the professional he is already hard in training for both events, some skills I believe are already in the bank… certainly the re-hydration at the beer festival won’t be too taxing on the body however the rest will be gruelling and physically demanding even for an former professional sportsman. 

Back to the more ‘relaxed night’ last night… arriving to paparazzi is always exciting, however when they tell you that you’ve dropped 5p as opposed to wanting to take your picture, you do realise that you really haven’t made it just yet!!!  Getting over my disappointment at not being papped, I grabbed a quick beverage for hydration purposes and immediately set my sights on the beer pong and auction. Luckily it was a silent auction as I am hugely dangerous with an auction paddle! Having sussed out the situation and made a few bids it was off to sample the next delight, the photo booth!! This wasn’t a quick affair, Becs and I spent an extraordinary amount of time deciding which were the best props to use, settling on a fireman’s hat, pirate sword and star glasses we struck some outrageous poses and left our photo in the Ollie Day’s Guest Book. 

As the beer pong got more and more competitive and the drinks flowed it was time to raise even more cash. With the women to men ratio definitely favouring the ladies it was no wonder that the second auction of the night went down so well. An all expenses paid 3 course dinner with Ben Bidwell, James Haskell and Nsa Harrison was the lot. A bid of £20 started by yours truly didn’t last long and as the pounds went up the tops came off… true to form the main man Nsa Harrison took it one step further revealing some outrageous union jack budgie smugglers which helped ignite the bidding! £1,000 later and one lucky lady guaranteed herself a dinner with the 3 of them; needless to say I’m sure that she is now very popular with her girlfriends! 

The whole night was a roaring success and I hope raised a huge amount of money for the Alzheimer’s Society. I thoroughly recommend that you all get yourselves down to the next Ollie Day, you cannot go wrong, rubbing shoulders with current and ex professional players whilst having a great night out with your friends and raising money for a superb cause. As soon as the next Ollie Day is announced I will be there with bells on and I hope that some of you will be too! 

To support Ollie on his upcoming cycle and overall fundraising donate here.

England Senior Elite Player Squad

England coach Stuart Lancaster today announced his EPS and Saxons squads ahead of the Autumn Internationals… after an extremely busy summer of rugby including a tour to Argentina and a certain Lions Tour this announcement was eagerly anticipated and there was much speculation as to whether Stuart would make any Gatland’esque monumental squad changes. In fact he didn’t and there are just 6 new entrants into the EPS squad and 3 new Saxons’ players, so nothing too outrageous, on the surface anyway. If we delve a little deeper there are a few decisions that might provoke some outrage in the rugby world, but certainly not to the BOD dropping level of a few weeks ago!

This morning’s announcement is extremely important, there are only 23 matches left until the 2015 World Cup, and I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that this World Cup is being held here. A home world cup has huge expectations, just ask New Zealand and we are expected to stand up and deliver the goods come 2015. So let’s look at a few talking points from this morning's announcement shall; 

The Senior EPS squad is made up of 33 players in total, clearly there isn’t room for everyone and there will be some disappointed players today who ‘only’ made the Saxons. Let’s not forget that the beauty of this system is that we should have 64 players all capable of pulling on an England Shirt and performing at test level at a moment's notice. 

Saxons Newbies: Jack Nowell is a product of the Exeter Chiefs’ academy and one of England's Junior World Championship winners – he arrives into the Saxons Squad to devastate from Full Back and push on his fantastic upward trajectory to date. Harlequins Luke Wallace also steps into the fold after proving week in and week out whilst Chris Robshaw was away just how brilliant he can be. Finally Matthew Tait returns to the Saxons after a long time out of the picture due to injury and lack of form. 

The Hartley & Ashton Debate:  Dylan Hartley retains his space in the EPS squad despite his atrocious behaviour in the Aviva Premiership Final. Rightly Stuart addressed this following the announcement saying; “I had a long hard think about it and a long conversation with him. I wanted to be reassured that he understands where the line is, what is right and what is wrong,".  Chris Ashton is another contentious one who retains his place despite having scored just 2 tries in his last 17 Tests for England and not many more at Sarries. His dwindling form and defensive inadequacies have led many to people calling for him to be dropped for a long time however clearly his “potential” still outshines all of this in the eyes of Stuart.

New Kids on the Wing: Christian Wade, Marland Yarde and Kyle Eastmond all join the EPS Squad after their strong performances in Argentina… alas still there is no room for oldie Tom Varndell who’s England ship seems to have sailed and sunk. Hopefully having actual wingers in the squad means that Mike Brown will now contest for the Full Back position only and not moonlight on the wing any more!! 

New Beef: Dave Attwood brings into the squad his physicality, Billy Vunipola and Matt Kvesic are the young and dynamic back row players designed to push our older one’s in every way for a starting spot. These guys all arrive into the EPS Squad at the expense of Calum Clark, James Haskell, Thomas Waldrom and Tom Johnson who slip into the Saxons Squad

Clearly things were not easy for Stuart and his team; "This was the toughest EPS selection we've had to make with fierce competition for places in every area of the squad after an excellent summer for England players at all levels," .

With so much time to go between now and 2^ndNovember clearly there will be changes – players will obtain injuries slogging it out week in week out for their clubs and people will rise and dip in form… but this 65 man squad is the starting point for the 2013/14 England campaign.

Argentina, Australia and New Zealand will provide the first tests for the EPS squad at HQ in November and then we will march forward into the 6 Nations. This year’s 6 Nations’ will be tough, the brilliance of the Welsh contingent in Australia helping us to win the Lions tour will be a HUGE force to take on. This is a daunting prospect to say the least, however given the 2015 goal it is one that we have to take on and smash! One question that does remain is who will lead this England EPS squad into these next few months?? Unfortunately we will have to wait and see, Stuart is not expected to announce his captain until October, therefore the speculation will continue as to whether Chris Robshaw will retain that honour or whether someone else will take the reigns. 

For now the EPS and Saxons squads will travel to Loughborough for some training and, I would suspect, a spot of team bonding. Maybe a little trip back to my old uni is required, just to make sure they all know their way around the campus and have everything that is required!?!! On that note I will leave you with the full squad lists below for you to peruse at your leisure: 

England Senior EPS
Forwards: David Attwood (Bath Rugby), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Corbisiero (Northampton Saints), Tom Croft (Leicester Tigers), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), Matt Kvesic (Gloucester Rugby), Joe Launchbury (London Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby), Geoff Parling (Leicester Tigers), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), David Wilson (Bath Rugby), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers). Backs: Chris Ashton (Saracens), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins), Freddie Burns (Gloucester Rugby), Danny Care (Harlequins), Lee Dickson (Northampton Saints), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers), Ben Foden (Northampton Saints), Alex Goode (Saracens), Kyle Eastmond (Bath Rugby), Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby), Christian Wade (London Wasps), Marland Yarde (London Irish), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers).

England Saxons 
Forwards: Calum Clark (Northampton Saints), Jordan Crane (Leicester Tigers), Paul Doran Jones (Harlequins), Will Fraser (Saracens), James Haskell (London Wasps), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Graham Kitchener (Leicester Tigers), George Kruis (Saracens), Kearnan Myall (London Wasps), David Paice (London Irish), George Robson (Harlequins), Ed Slater (Leicester Tigers), Henry Thomas (Sale Sharks), Thomas Waldrom (Leicester Tigers), Luke Wallace (Harlequins), Rob Webber (Bath Rugby), Nick Wood (Gloucester Rugby) Backs: Anthony Allen (Leicester Tigers), Luther Burrell (Northampton Saints), Elliot Daly (London Wasps), George Ford (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby), Ugo Monye (Harlequins), Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Charlie Sharples (Gloucester Rugby), Joe Simpson (London Wasps), David Strettle (Saracens), Mathew Tait (Leicester Tigers), Joel Tomkins (Saracens), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens)