The Spitfires returned to the 28^th Scandinavian 7s this season, determined to improve on their semi-final placing in 2009. Teams were drawn from all over Europe including Iceland, the Netherlands, and as far away as Fiji. The Spitfires returned with some of the stalwarts from 2009 and several new players, who were making their debut on the 7s scene. However it was a damp Copenhagen which greeted the squad, as opposed to the scorching weather of 2009. The tournament was spread over two days, with the winners from day one going through to a second group stage which then went on to a knock-out competition.

The first match was against Danish side Lindo. The game started tentatively with both sides sizing up their opposite number , but the Spitfires were the first to make a break of it, and from the middle of the pitch, Boulmer’s Karl Craven ripped the ball from a ruck to break down the left wing and score. This spurred the team on and continuous pressure on Lindo drove them back to their own 5 yard line. New boy, Callum Davies from Benson provided a great off-load in the centre of the pith to Woods who ran through the defence to score under the posts giving the RAF a 12-0 lead at halftime.

Lindo started the second half well, chipping the ball forward at every opportunity to test the Spitfire defence, and it finally paid off for them when a chip ahead for their winger was collected and they scored in the right corner. However, the RAF were straight back at them, and from the kick-off Rory Wood made an immense pass across the pitch to Rory Brabant who made an excellent break down the left wing before off-loading to Nick Monahan who continued on to score under the posts. The RAF maintained their pressure and were unlucky not to score again through Rory Brabant, but from a free kick he eventually got hold of the ball again and broke down the middle to again socre under the posts, giving the Spitfires their first win of 26-5.

A good start to the tournament which settled the nerves and got the squad working in unison in the damp conditions.

The second match was against reigning Danish champions, CSR. This match was going to be a lot tougher, given the experience of this Copenhagen side and they started well when a missed pass from the Spitfires allowed them in for an early score. They capitalised on this early advantage and the RAF were left standing when a pass along the back row was intercepted and the locals were in to score a second. They added a third try a few seconds later, and it all looked downhill leading towards halftime.

To their credit, the Spitfires regrouped in the second half and when the ball went out to Rory Brabant on the left wing he broke through two tackles to then step inside and score under the posts. The RAF kept the pressure on and fixed CSR inside their own 22 for a considerable amount of time before Gareth Jacobs got the ball to Nick Monahan who managed to drag two defenders across the line with him to score. The RAF kept the pressure on, but CSR could now see that they were on the back foot and took their time getting the ball back after passages of play and managed to stall until the final whistle. So a disappointing result of 21-12. However, the top two from each group were destined to go through to the next round and there was still plenty to play for.

The third pool match was against Vanersborg Rugby Club from Sweden. They had previously beaten both Lindo and CSR in the group stages so it was going to be a tough match.

The RAF started strongly and put the pressure on from the first kick-off and within two minutes of play they had worked the ball out to the left wing where Rory Brabant stepped around two players to score under the posts. Sensing their luck was turning, the Spitfires stepped up the pace and some hard hitting tackles from Gareth Jacobs put the opposition on the back foot. Some excellent defensive play by Karl Craven was matched by a determined attack from the centres and it wasn’t long before the ball went out to Brabant again and allowed him in for another try before half-time giving the Spitfires a 14-0 lead.

The quickened pace continued in the second half and this time it was Benson’s Nick Monahan who was on the wing and who firmly handed off a tackler before diving under the posts to add a third try. The RAF retained most of the possession throughout the closing minutes and it was Honington’s Jonny Statham who ran in the final try through a gap in the centre of the field. The final score, a convincing 28-0.

This concluded the first day’s play and then the heavens opened and the evening bbq and social events were put on the back burner as Copenhagen experienced the heaviest rain in decades. However, the team physio, Jolindi Smit, thought it would be a great idea to recover with a sea dip, so in torrential rain, the squad headed down the road to the deserted beach for a muscle relaxing dip, before heading back to prepare for the next days competition.

The format for the second day was another group competition of the top 8 teams who competed in 2 pools of 4. As the winners of group B, the RAF were drawn against the Honeybunns, Andy’s Vikings, and Cote Ouvert from France. The names may not sound familiar, but it is a common practice in 7s for serious teams to adopt unfamiliar team names to allow them to compete in amateur competition without drawing attention to themselves!

First up were the Honeybunns, made up of Sheffield players. From the kick-off they looked like they meant business and it wasn’t long before the Honeybunns found a gap and broke through to score. However the RAF were not going to sit back and take it, and from a ruck in their own 22, Tim Barlow got the ball back to Rory Brabant who broke through one tackle, ran to their 5 yard line, broke another tackle and scored. This marked the start of the comeback for the Spitfires and they drove the ball deep into the Honeybunns half and were awarded a penalty at the 5 yard line. A quick take by Tim Barlow allowed him to dive in under the posts giving the Spitfires a lead of 12-5 at halftime.

The Spitfire surge continued in the second half and a break by Callum Davies down the left wing allowed him to take the ball back inside and then via Nick Monahan to Jonny Statham who scored under the posts. From the subsequent kick-off Nick Monahan again got the ball and took it inside this time and down the centre of the pitch before moving it out to the right wing via Gareth Jacobs who passed to Tchad Collins-Francois who then sprinted around the winger to score. The Spitfires then stepped off the gas pedal but maintained possession in the middle of the pitch before being awarded a 5 yard scrum from which Tchad Collins-Francois added a second try, leaving the final score 31-5.

The second match was against Andy’s Vikings, the Danish national development squad, who had proven to be formidable earlier in the competition. However the RAF were not daunted by this and from the first kick-off the ball went to Benson’s Callum Davies who ran through the central defence to score. Some great tackling from Woods in the centre of the pitch allowed the RAF to repossess the ball and play-maker Tim Barlow set up Cranwell’s Sean Kilkenny who almost made it across the line but managed to off-load to Nick Monahan to score under the posts. Woods maintained terrific form in the centre of the pitch and stole the ball from the next kick-off and passed it out to Gareth Jacobs who subsequently ran through the central defence and scored. This was followed two minutes later by an impressive dive from Barlow from a 5 yard penalty to score under the posts. This gave the Spitfires a 28-0 lead at half-time.

The Vikings started the second half in a promising fashion and broke through the RAF’s defence to score in the first minute. The plan was now to slow the game to a sensible pace and reserve energy for the subsequent game, but this did not stop the Spitfires getting the ball out from a messy maul in the middle of the pitch via Nick Monahan to Sean Kilkenny to score in the corner. Again the kick-off worked in the RAF’s favour and the ball rebounded off a Viking into the hands of Jonny Statham who dribbled down the left wing to score in the corner. Another impressive win for the Spitfires at 40-7.

The final group match was against the unbeaten French side, Cote Ouvert, who were a senior side recently returned from the Stockholm tens where they were semi-finalists. This was always going to be a physical match and the French had proven their mettle against British teams earlier in the competition.

The match started tentatively, with the Spitfires trying not to get sucked into a slogging match, given the French started with a rolling maul down the centre of the pitch. The RAF soon found them selves pushed back to their own 5 yard line but at that point Boulmer’s Karl Craven broke down the left wing with Monahan in support. Karl off-loaded at the halfway line to Monners who then sprinted the rest of the way to score under the posts. However the French were not to be underestimated and it wasn’t long before they were right back in it and had pushed the RAF back to their own 5 yard line again. At this point they were awarded a penalty from which they drove over to score. Play in the middle of the field became quite physical and a French player was yellow-carded for scrapping. This allowed the RAF to take advantage of the numbers and Tim Barlow worked the ball out to Jonny Statham who gassed it down the right wing to score giving the RAF the lead at halftime.

The French were beginning to tire and from a break down the left wing the Spitfires were unlucky not to score through Callum Davies. From the following ruck the ball came out to Nick Monahan on the right wing who sprinted the length of the pitch to core. The French continued their physical game mentality and retained possession for some time in the middle of the pitch but were then forced back to their own 22 where the Spitfires were awarded a penalty. From this penalty the RAF worked it across the back line to Tchad Collins-Francois who ran around the outside of the French defence to score under the posts. The French were now running ragged and the superior fitness of the RAF showed when they again regained possession into the middle of the pitch. Woods scrambled the ball free from a maul and got it out to Tim Barlow who then ran the length of the pitch with a large Frenchman in hot pursuit to score under the posts. The final score, RAF 35, Cote Ouvert 7.

This was the furthest the RAF had ever been in a competition of this standard, and only the final to come, against host club RK Speed. Speed had earlier beaten Susie’s Saloon, the firm favourites and winners of 10 of the last 12 tournaments, so they were no slackers and would prove to be strong opposition.

The final started very positively with a great break in the early seconds from Benson’s Callum Davies who almost broke through the defensive wall, but Speed managed to get the ball back to the halfway line where possession changed hands twice before Jonny Statham broke down the right wing to score under the posts. Spurred on by this early lead, the Spitfires received the next kick off and got the ball out to Rory Brabant on the left wing. He stepped inside two tackles and then stepped outside the sweeper to reach across into the left corner and score. Then followed one of the tries of the tournament when Gareth Jacobs, Tim Barlow and Nick Monahan combined to produce an amazing effort which took the Spitfires from within their own 22 to underneath the opposition’s posts – a remarkable effort with every member of the team handling the ball to produce the score. Nine minutes had now gone and with the final kick-off of the half, RK Speed managed to claw a score back to leave the Spitfires leading by 19-5 at the whistle.

Speed kicked off the second half, sending the ball straight into touch, which gave the Spitfires a free kick from the halfway line. From their kick Gareth Jacobs switched the direction of play out to the left where the ball was handed to Rory Brabant, to Nick Monahan, to Brabant to Monahan again, who cut a line through the defence to score in the right corner. However, Speed were straight back into the fray and replied with a try of their own in the corner bringing the score to 26-10 with 5 minutes to go. However, the Spitfires had no intention of backing off and Tim Barlow led the charge, passing it out to Jonny Statham who subsequently stepped around two tackles to add another try. However, Speed answered immediately with another try of their own bringing the score to 33-15. With 30 secs to go in the match the RAF maintained possession and fed the ball out through Tchad Collins-Francois to Brabant to add a final try to his tally. The final whistle blew as the conversion was kicked and the RAF were crowned Scandinavian champions, winning 38-15.

This represented a fantastic result for the Spitfires. After only two years on the 7s scene, they had taken an international title. Manager, Wg Cdr Blythe Crawford, was over the moon. ‘When we started out two years ago, we set ourselves a 5-year goal of winning a 7s title, and we have achieved that goal already. This is a fantastic achievement for the guys who have put their all into this tournament, both as individuals and as a team. We want the 7s to be a development tool for the senior side, as well as being an entity in itself, and if these players can take this commitment and performance forward, it bodes well for RAF Rugby in general.’ Player/Coach Tim Barlow was equally pleased with the performance, ‘what really struck me was the way in which the guys have really pulled together this season. Starting with our joint session with the England team, and through to this competition, the squad have really gelled together, and the win here today was down to their determination and their support for one another on and off the pitch. We have tried to instil a professional attitude amongst the players, who now take their pre-match preparation very seriously, and it has really paid off. I’m very proud of them all.’ The sevens season is almost over with only the Harpenden 7s to go, but the team still have a joint training session at RAF Halton with the Welsh squad to look forward to, and for RAF Rugby, the Binbrook Bomb on 15 September marks the start of the new season where hopefully the lessons learnt this summer can be passed on.

Above: Gareth Jacobs gets the ball away from a scrum

Above: Nick Monahan chips ahead in the final

Above: Rory Brabant makes another break

Above: Rory Brabant touches down for another try

Above: Sean Kilkenny on the charge

Above: Team huddle before the final

Above: Rory Wood holds aloft the trophy