The first 7’s tournament held in Hartford in over 20 years was held on 7th June with the West Hartford Exiles winning the Men’s trophy against host’s Hartford Wanderers, and Danbury taking the Women’s trophy winning a nail biting final against Boston.
Over 25 teams entered across both Empire and NERFU conferences on a day that started in sunshine and finished with heavy rain, ensuring the reputation of the Swamp 7s was well earned.
In the Men’s final West Hartford Exiles, a team comprised of alumni from the successful West Hartford Blackhearts high school program, went 3-0 in pool play and beat a strong Danbury team in the semi-final, winning by 1 score. They faced the Hartford Wanderers who also went 3-0 in pool play and came from behind in the Semi Final vs Albany to win 17-15. The final was a close affair until Hartford Wanderers John Kirklin hit a high tackle on his brother Kevin, playing for West Hartford, and received a yellow card. West Hartford were able to capitalize by scoring a try in his absence and were able to hold off a strong second half fightback to edge the game 17-7.
In the Women’s final both Boston and Danbury finished pool play as the top 2 seeds and comfortable won their semi final games. The final however was a tight contest with Boston ahead of Danbury by 1 try for the duration of the game. A failed kick to touch to end the game resulted in Danbury receiving the ball and having one final shot to win the game. They were able to move the ball over several phases and ended up scoring in the corner to edge the game 12-10.
Rugby across the Greater Hartford area was well represented with 2 Hartford Roses teams competing in the Women’s trophy while the Men’s bracket had the official Wanderers side, Berts Bee’s – a select side picked by club president Alex Rushworth, West Hartford Exiles who many also play under the Wanderers name in both 7s and 15s, and finally a team representing Central Connecticut State University who have a close history with the Wanderers.
A huge thank you to all volunteers prior and on the day for putting this together as well as all players and teams for participating. We look forward to bringing the swamp battle back next summer.