Report by Richard Butterworth (2015, G)
After being in the works for a few months, it was finally time for Radley Serpents to take on Bournemouth 7s. With a fresh young team, half of whom were making their Serpents debut, spirits were up for something big.
Despite having a smaller squad than others, the group stage of the Jubel Beer Cup was, in short, a breeze. With Cooper (2018, C) and Tutus (2018, F) tag teaming in the try scoring and Matthews (2019, D) and McCowen (2018, F) converting most of them, the Serpents put in three dominant performances, sealing most of them by half time with a 25-point lead. Some highlights include Wilson (2018, G) intercepting and running the length and Doris breaking a couple of ankles. To end the day, Couttie (2018, G) sealed an internship in the city after we played JP Morgan, so productive all round. We finished top of the group after STRFC gave us a walkover for the last game despite Tutus’s disappointment and protests. The Saturday night concluded with a James Marshall-approved cool down of pints and a set by Badger plus a bit of DnB.
On to the quarters on Sunday, with most of the squad well rested and the others “functional”, this game was a big one: if we made it to the final, we would be on the National Cup pitch. With a rally of tries back and forth and some very joué rugby, the Serpents were up two points in the final minute. However, a beautifully executed set piece from the scrum Bournemouth Buffalos popped down in the corner, sealing the victory. Every cloud has a silver lining, so we got on the jubels early and watched the National Cup to learn how to play some 7s!
Sadly, it wasn’t our time this year however the boys should be proud, as a scratch team we played some beautiful champagne egg chasing. It wetted the appetite for some more 7s and we hope to expand our 7s calendar over the next year.
For more information about Old Radleian sports, visit the Clubs & Societies page.
