After washouts and postponements, the second and final round of the 2022/23 Capital 7s Tournament was able to kick off at Campese Field in Queanbeyan on Saturday and it was a huge day with plenty of champagne rugby moments.
In sweltering heat we had 5 teams participating in both the Men’s and Women’s divisions and looking at the points from round 1 leading into this final round, both Championships were any teams for the taking. Every team in their respective division was to play competitors once to see who would be standing on top at the end of the day.
In the Men’s division, a dominant Gungahlin Eagles team was hard to look past following their round 1 performances, but a tough Penrith Emus contingent couldn't be counted out after both teams finished in the top 2 at round 1 in Wagga. Making their jobs harder was the experience and strength in the remaining 3 sides– Queanbeyan, Royals and Uni-Norths.
A top of the table clash came early in the day as Gungahlin and Penrith came head-to-head in both of their second games of the day – Penrith finishing with a 2 point win over Gungahlin. From there, it was all Penrith – going through the round undefeated and a force to be reckoned with in claiming top spot. Gungahlin closed out their day and claimed second spot on the round’s ladder with a 24-all draw with Queanbeyan.
At the completion of round 2 – Penrith and Gungahlin were tied on total Championship points based on accumulated points from round 1 and 2. In the end, Penrith were declared the tournament champions based on their round 2 win over Gungahlin.
In the women’s division, it truly was anyone’s game. With the top 2 teams from round 1 (SIRU and Tuggeranong) being unavailable to participate and automatically receiving last place for the round, the round winners and tournament champions was there for the taking.
After being unable to participate in round 1 of the tournament, Queanbeyan and Wests came out firing and were looking to be the form teams of the day. However, both Royals and Uni-Norths were not going to let the Whites and Lions have it all their own way, and it came down to the final match of the day between Wests and Royals to determine the round winner.
In a bruising affair Wests finished on top, undefeated for the day and being crowned the round 2 winners.
However, in a two-round tournament where every game counts, consistency is key. And whilst they just fell short of being the round 2 winners, finishing second on the day, Royals accumulated enough points to finish in first place on the Championship ladder, tying with Uni-Norths. As in the men’s division, the overall winner was decided based on Royals’ round 2 win against Uni-Norths.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge a few individual achievements across the tournament:
Men’s Player of the Tournament:
Jay Lualua – Gungahlin Eagles
Men’s Leading Point Scorer:
Benjamin Qoro – Penrith Emus
Men’s Leading Try Scorer:
Benjamin Qoro – Penrith Emus
Women’s Player of the Tournament:
Bianca Francis – Canberra Royals
Women’s Leading Point Scorer:
Bianca Francis – Canberra Royals
Women’s Leading Try Scorer:
Bianca Francis – Canberra Royals
Congratulations to all teams on a successful Capital 7s tournament.
A huge thank you to our ACT Referees for coming out to Queanbeyan for the day to assist with refereeing all games, particularly in such warm conditions. It was great to see so many supporters at Campese Field!
Capital 7s – Round 2 Ladder:
Men
Penrith – 15 points
Gungahlin – 13 points
Queanbeyan – 11 points
Royals – 9 points
Uni-Norths – 7 points
SIRU – 3 points
Wests – 3 points
Women
Wests – 15 points
Royals – 13 points
Queanbeyan – 11 points
Uni-Norths – 9 points
Gungahlin – 7 points
SIRU – 3 points
Tuggeranong – 3 points
Capital 7s – Overall Championship Ladder:
Men
Penrith – 28 points
Gungahlin – 28 points
Uni-Norths – 18 points
Royals – 16 points
Queanbeyan – 14 points
SIRU – 12 points
Wests – 6 points
Women
Royals – 20 points
Uni-Norths – 20 points
SIRU – 18 points
Wests – 18 points
Tuggeranong – 16 points
Gungahlin – 16 points
Queanbeyan – 14 points
