Canary wharf rugby players set to play in city tournament

Teams will be coached by players from Harlequins RFC, including England stars David Strettle and Andy Gomarsall, while Quins coach Dean Richards will be passing on encouragement from the sidelines.

England winger Strettle, who is coaching Norton Rose’s team, said: “All the Quins lads are looking forward to it because it’s a way for us to compete without having to actually go on the pitch. I played on the sevens circuit so I’ve got a few moves we can implement.”

Credit Suisse captain Clark Taylor, who works in the sales middle office FX, admitted his side won’t have time to prepare properly for the event, but he hopes a bit of practice on the day will be enough.

He said: “The idea is to turn up a little bit early and go with our coaches, Mike Brown and Tani Fuga, to see if we can get something together on the day.

“I think we’ve got as good a chance as anyone. Speaking to the other captains it doesn’t seem as if they’ve got much experience in touch sevens. It’s a totally different game to normal rugby.”

Competition is sure to be fierce and the field is wide open, although Dean Richards believes there might be a surprise in store.

“I wouldn’t always say the best players are always the best coaches,” he said. “I’d have a look at one of the
outsiders being coached by maybe one of the props, like Michael Ross.

“It’ll be a great day, though. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s raising money for two worthy charities, the Wooden Spoon Society and Barretstown, and it gets Harlequins closer to the City, which is wonderful.”

The tournament starts at 2pm with the final scheduled for 5.15pm. Supporters are welcome but must
register to attend.

See cityscrum@nortonrose for details.

simon.hayes@wharf.co.uk