Shawnigan Lake School Only North American Team at Prestigious 7s Tournament Held at Rugby School in England
from Shawnigan Lake
Shawnigan Lake School will have the honour of representing all of North America at a prestigious rugby sevens tournament in England later this month celebrating the 200th anniversary of the sport.
Shawnigan is sending 15 players to the Rugby School U18 International School Sevens at the sports namesake, Rugby School, in Warwickshire, England on March 25 and 26.
Shawnigan is one of 20 schools from around the world who have been invited to compete at the event, and the only one from North America. Other teams are travelling from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Chile, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.
It is a huge honour for the School and our students and coaches to be part of this world invitational event, said Shawnigan Director of Sport Mr. Tim Murdy. Not only to be participating and representing Canada, but being recognized as one of the top rugby- playing schools.
Many teams, including Shawnigan, will include players who have represented their
respective nations in international age-grade competition.
The tournament will be played on Rugby Schools storied pitch, known as The Close, where William Webb Ellis is said to have first picked up a ball during a soccer match, thus inventing an entirely new sport.
Shawnigan was invited to participate because the school previously took part in a tournament in 2017 marking Rugby Schools 450th anniversary. At the time, Shawnigan was both the Canadian independent school champion and BC provincial champion.
Prior to taking part in the tournament at Rugby School, Shawnigan will attend the Rosslyn Park National Schools Sevens on March 20 and 21. Held at Rosslyn Park in London, it is the largest school rugby tournament in the world.