EVERYONE’S A WINNER!! On Thursday 15th June, we jointly hosted this year’s RICS Matrics Charity Mixed Touch Rugby 7s Tournament at Cotham Park Rugby Club. It was a wet and windy start to proceedings, but that didn’t dampen the spirits and once the whistle blew to kick off the tournament, the clouds cleared to reveal blue sky and sunshine, setting the tone for a superb day of rugby, music, fundraising and meat (courtesy of Smoke Catering and their epic Texan BBQ)
The tournament comprised of twelve teams divided into two groups, with Group A boasting the likes of Aecom, Bristol Sport, Colliers, Bond Dickinson, Mace and a motley crew of Amarellians and Kingstonians who coined themselves All Stars.
Group B consisted of CBRE, Artis HR, Ridge & Partners, Savills, Hydrock and Stride Treglown. All of whom embraced the spirit of the day in exactly the right way… Trying hard, whilst having fun.
The refereeing team consisted of Matthew Jess from newly crowned Aviva Premiership Rugby champions, Exeter Chiefs, Peter Brunt from Colliers, Ricky Jones from CBRE and Matthew Hurley from Bristol Sport. All four were a credit to the event and were instrumental in the success of the day.From the get go it was clear that there were a few teams who fancied their chances! Bond Dickinson, Artis HR and Colliers finished the group stages unbeaten, walking effortlessly into the quarter finals.
They were joined by Bristol Sport, Savills, CBRE, Stride Treglown and surprisingly… All Stars. It wasn’t a fix, honest! Mace who finished the group stages on 1 point picked up the coveted wooden spoon!
After a series of tightly fought quarter-finals and semi-finals, the two stand out teams, Artis HR and last year’s runner-up, Bond Dickinson stood head to head in the final. The crowd were in for a treat!
Both teams showed off their attacking prowess and defensive brilliance to the max, resulting in the closest final in recent years. So much so, the final finished as a scoreless draw! And, true to the spirit of the day, both teams agreed to share the spoils and finish the tournament as joint champions. A fitting end to a fantastic day.
As the day drew to an end, over £1,500 was raised for this year’s charity, Above & Beyond. Here’s what Catherine Harris, Corporate Partnerships Fundraising Officer at Above & Beyond had to say:
“We’re incredibly grateful to Amarelle and Kingston Barnes for choosing us as the beneficiary charity for their exciting Rugby Day. The money raised from the tournament will go towards purchasing a state of the art incubator for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St Michael’s Hospital. Without the fantastic support of Bristol businesses such as these we wouldn’t be able to fund projects that go above and beyond what the NHS can afford so thank you!”We’re incredibly proud of the event and the money we raised and our thanks go out to everyone that helped make it such a great day. Our thanks also go out to all the local businesses for their generous support and raffle prizes: Hayes Parsons; Artworks Solutions; Bristol Sport; Bristol Zoo; Wild Place Project; Vision Nine (NASS Festival); Transitions Festival; Friska; Ocee; Pizza Express; Aquila; Loch Fyne; Aqua; Krav Maga and Revolution Bristol.
To view/download the official photos from the day please click here.