It has been a long wait, but after nearly 18 months without any serious competitive rugby, a Warlingham side finally got a chance to play on Saturday, their senior Sevens squad losing narrowly in the final of the Egham Hallowegians Sevens.
Coming back: Warlingham’s Sevens squad came close to overall victory on Saturday
Warlingham, like most amateur sports clubs, have been hit hard by the covid-19 lockdowns. Their 2019-2020 15-a-side season stopped abruptly in February 2020, and the second wave of covid meant there’s been no action at all in 2020-2021.
But some easing of lockdown has allowed for something of a Sevens season this summer, and Warlingham’s players have grasped the opportunity with both hands.
At Egham, after winning all three of their group games, the Warlingham Wizards won their semi-final against Chobham 7-5, but fell short in the final with Reedonians, losing 19-14.
“We had a few injuries, so ran out of bodies at the end,” head coach Nick Warren said.
“We controlled the first half, but ran out of gas.”
Team captain Brad Saffery said, “We’ve only had a couple of Sevens training sessions, so the boys did really well for our first outing.
“Hopefully, we’ll improve at the next tournament which is the Surrey County Sevens at Guildford RFC on July 17.”
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