Wharf teams poised for City Scrum challenge

Of the 15 teams taking part, seven are from Canary Wharf, with Citigroup, Thomson Reuters, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, KPMG and Credit Suisse all entered.

JP Morgan have won the tournament for the last two years, but the Wharf teams are determined to knock them off their perch. Thomson Reuters captain Charlie McElroy has high hopes for his team.

He said: "We made the quarter-finals last year. But our standard is improving and we'll be ready to give it a good go and depose JP Morgan. But even if we lose, if it's half as good as last year it will be brilliant."

Credit Suisse captain Nick Kearns is another looking for success, although he stressed the emphasis is on enjoyment.

He said: "We had a good run to the semi-final last year, where we lost to the eventual winners. We're hoping to go all the way this year, as we've got some good players. It's going to be competitive because everyone wants to win, but the main thing is it will be a lot of fun."

One of the big attractions of the tournament is the involvement of professional players from Harlequins, thanks to sponsors Norton Rose. Each team is allocated a coach from the club, which means they get to rub shoulders with the likes of England stars Nick Easter and Ugo Monye.

For Quins captain Will Skinner it's a chance for the pros to kick back from the pressures of big-time rugby.

He said: "It's a great opportunity to get away from the training field and do something different. The last two years have been a great success.

"Even though it's been fairly tough financial-wise, the guys have stuck with it. It's a chance for us to meet new people and watch rugby, rather than play it, for once.

"I'm looking after the Thomson Reuters over-40s team. I was a bit worried when they put me in with them, maybe it's a sign of my age.

"Even though the teams I've coached before haven't been too successful, it's a great day out. I'll get them running around as, to be honest, we don't have much time to do much coaching with them.

"It's more motivation, give them water at half-time and get them out there to do their best. But it's a lot of fun."

Thomson Reuters over-40s skipper Alex Hughes is looking forward to linking up with Skinner for their mini-tournament, which features just five teams.

He said: "It was a cracking day last year, and it raises money for charity too, which makes it all the better. We won last year and with Will to inspire us I'm confident we'll retain our crown."

The Harlequins and Norton Rose City Scrum on March 24 will be raising money for HopeHIV and Southwark Tigers Rugby Club.