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The Istanbul Rugby Sevens tournament organization is proud to announce that also in our third year a National Team will represent its country. After the National Sevens team of India (Winners 2010), followed by the National Sevens team of Morocco (Runner Up 2011), the National Sevens team of Bulgaria will join our tournament!

Besides the National Sevens team of Bulgaria, again already very strong sides have registered themselves already via our Registration Form. The Royal Air Force Spitfire 7s team from the U.K., the strong French invitational side of Impact Sevens, Barasti from the Emirates, and the International Ottoman Sevens that will exist of a group of international players from Germany seem to be willing to write their name on the board as the winner of the Istanbul Rugby Sevens tournament in 2012 and take home the prize money of EUR 3000!!

Registrations are open. We are looking for strong sides to compete in the Open Class Men, but also are looking for another competition: either Women, or Vets or Social Class Men. Please register yourself so a decision can be made. We will ensure timely communication about this decision.

The dates of the 2012 edition of the Istanbul Rugby Sevens tournament has been confirmed!! The tournament will be held on Saturday the 5th of May and Sunday the 6th of May, 2012. The venue will be the same as the previous years: The Istanbul Atatürk Olympic Venue.

The two-day Rugby Sevens event at the Olympic Park in Istanbul has been won by Susies Sevens, as they beat the Moroccan National Sevens team in the Final.

The second edition of the Istanbul Rugby Sevens tournament began with 12 men's teams and 4 women's teams from Europe, Africa, The Middle-East, Western Asia and of course Turkey.
During the first day the group games were played, which resulted in the classification for the Cup, Shield and Plate on the second day. The group games were a huge experience for the less-experienced Turkish Clubs University teams, like the Istanbul Lions; Istanbul Young Boys; Uni 7's and Istanbul Kültür Üniversitesi (IKÜ).

During the second day Susies Sevens; the Moroccan National Sevens team; The International Ottoman7s and Olymp from Kazakhstan qualified to play for the Cup, whereas the Middle-East Technical University (METU; reigning Turkish champions in the Turkish XVs competition); the Istanbul Ottomans R.F.C. (an impressive third place last year during the Istanbul Sevens); Türk Gücü (Turkish National Team potentials lead by the new coach Niall Doherty); and the Arabian Potbellies R.F.C. (a social side from Dubai) competed to get the Plate, which was eventually won by the Istanbul Ottomans R.F.C. by beating Türk Gücü with 35 to 24.

A very first in Turkish history is the fact that there was not one, but two Turkish Ladies teams on the field: METU Amazons and the Samsun Sharks Ladies. Although they were not able to score a single try against the strong and far more experienced Olymp Ladies from Kazakhstan and University Muhammed Premier Oujda Ladies team from Morocco. The Samsun Sharks Ladies were able to walk away as winners from the very first Turkish clash against the METU Amazons, as the Sharks scored last-minute winning try of the game. As expected, the Moroccan Uni Ladies and the Olymp Ladies competed to get the first ever Women's Cup in Turkey. The game was followed with much interest by the spectators and other teams, which was eventually won by the Olymp Ladies.

The Moroccan National Sevens team beat the invitational team of the International Ottoman 7s, existing for this occasion of former and current German National Team players including Mustafa Güngör and Timur Tekkal; both of Turkish descent, with an amazing comeback from the Moroccans. In the other Cup Semi-Final Susies Sevens were able to beat the Kazakh powerhouse Olymp relatively easy, leaving Olymp to compete for the Shield with the International Ottoman 7s.
The final of the Shield was won by the International Ottoman 7s, beating Olymp 33 to 14, and taking the prize money of EUR 500 together with the Shield.
The Grand Finale, Susies Sevens against the Moroccan National Sevens team, was a true display of high quality rugby full with amazing passes, sidesteps, hand-offs and beautiful tries from both teams. Susies Sevens once again showed the Sevens community that they will be the team to beat in the Sevens circuit, as they took the title and EUR 3000 in prize money and the end of two halves of 10 minutes!
The Runner-Up of the Cup final, the Moroccan National Sevens, takes home EUR 1500 and a good experience for their tour and competitions in Africa.

The Rugby Türkiye Most Valuable Player of the Tournament and the Rugby Türkiye Most Promising Turkish Player of the Tournament are traditionally both picked by the referees.
The Rugby Türkiye MVP is Big Dave of Susies Sevens, and the Rugby Türkiye MPTP is Yusuf who played for the Arabian Potbellies R.F.C.

The referees of this tournament - Mike Hoyer (England/Germany); Gary Allen (South Africa/Dubai); Ian Coltman (England/Spain); Dave Smith (England/Istanbul); Andy Miller (England); and Jack Russell (England) - deserve a big applause as they were able to lead the games without any troubles and especially for helping the inexperienced teams, like the Turkish ladies, to get familiar with the laws of the game.

Furthermore, the sponsors of this event Nescafé Xpress (Main Sponsor); AYGAZ (Co-Sponsor); Rugby Türkiye (Media Partner); Eurest (F&B Partner); OlympIst (Facilities Provider); SporYapi (Grounds Keeper); and Puma (Sports Equipment Partner), as well as the official and governing bodies SporToto, Turkish Directorate of Youth and Sport, Turkish National Olympic Committee and Turkish Rugby Union deserve a mention, as without them this event was not possible.

Next year's edition will include next to the Men and Women's tournament also a Veteran 10s tournament, which will be a part of the European Veteran Rugby Association tournament series. The 2012 edition of the Istanbul Rugby Sevens tournament will be held in May as well.

The Indian National Sevens team was able to win the inaugural edition of the Istanbul Rugby Sevens 2010! After two long days in the burning sun, the Indian National Sevens was able to win all games during the Round Robin, and also during the Finals. The Indians went on with their preparations for their Commonwealth Games appearance in October by flying to England directly after the tournament.

The Dubai Frogs took the second place of the grand stand, taking home the Shield and EUR 1500 in cash, while the Istanbul Ottomans R.F.C. proved to be the strongest Turkish side by taking home the Plate and EUR 500 in cash.

The Round Robin leg of the tournament - which is the group stage played on Saturday - was won by the Indian National Sevens team, closely followed by the Dubai Frogs and the Sevens team of the Samsun Sharks.

Due to early injuries, the Exiles team was quickly diminished and had a hard time against the strong Turkish sides and the other teams from abroad. The Star&Crescent team and the Bakırköy Rugby Kulübü also had a hard time during the Round Robin, as they did not seem to have the qualities to match up against the other teams.

Interesting to see was the battle of the Turks, among the previous Turkish National Rugby Sevens winner Samsun Sharks, the Turkish selection team "Türk Gücü", and the oldest and biggest Rugby Club of Turkey, The Istanbul Ottomans R.F.C.. On day one, the Samsun Sharks proved to be the strongest Turkish side, as they ended third in the rankings.

During the second day - the day of the finals - the Indian National Sevens team had a easy game in their Quarter Finals against Bakırköy Rugby Kulübü, while the Dubai Frogs had no troubles with the Star & Crescent team, and the Samsun Sharks did win against the Exiles without pushing too hard. The most interesting Quarter Final was the game between the Turkish selection Türk Gücü, and the Istanbul Ottomans R.F.C.. The Ottomans were able to beat Türk Gücü with 22 against 7, ensuring the last spot on the semi-finals for the Cup, leaving Türk Gücü to play for the Dead Duck Trophy.

The Semi-Finals of the Dead Duck Trophy were played between Türk Gücü and Bakırköy R.K., and between the Star & Crescent and The Exiles teams. Both Türk Gücü and Star & Crescent were able to win the Semi-Finals and managed to get into the Final of the Dead Duck Trophy.

In the Semi-Finals for the Cup, the India National Sevens team had no trouble winning against the Istanbul Ottomans R.F.C., while the Dubai Frogs won with a massive score of 61-0 against the Samsun Sharks.

The following three finals were played:

• Dead Duck Tropy Final: Star & Crescent - Türk Gücü
• Plate Final: Istanbul Ottomans R.F.C. - Samsun Sharks
• Cup Final: Dubai Frogs - India National Sevens

The Dead Duck Trophy Final was won by Türk Gücü with 33 to 0. Without a doubt, they have been caught in a weak moment against the strong and experienced Ottomans in the Quarter Finals, but they truly deserved to win a prize, and that has become the infamous Dead Duck!

After the Dead Duck Trophy Final, the losing Cup Semi-Finalists the Samsun Sharks and the Istanbul Ottomans played for the Plate final and the chance the win EUR 500. It was a good final of two teams that were well matched to eachother, with Samsun Sharks starting to score with a first try, but then the Istanbul Ottomans to shift a gear and taking the Plate and the EUR 500 in cash, by winning 22 - 5.

The Cup final - in which the winner takes EUR 3000 and the loser takes EUR 1500 - has been played, as expected, between the Dubai Frogs and the Indian national team. The Dubai Frogs started strong with a try and a conversion, but the Indian National Sevens team bounced quickly back and managed to equalize the score. Eventually, the Indians appear to have the biggest reserve and manage to win the Final with 28 against 14, writing history as they have become the very first Istanbul Rugby Sevens winner of 2010!

The Referees, Mike Hoyer; Gary Allen; John Lane; Rob Harman; Ian Coltman; Matej Razga; and Dave Smith, have awarded two players of the tournament: Dubai Frog's skipper Antoine Bertheuil as being the Player of the Tournament, and Türk Gücü's Mustafa Kemal as being the Most Promising Player of the Istanbul Rugby Sevens tournament.

The Istanbul Rugby Sevens committee thank the Referees for doing an excellent job and having a tournament without incidents; the Turkish Ministry of Sports (GSGM) and the Turkish Rugby Federation (TBSF) for their support; the Turkish National Olympic Committee (TMOK) for their excellent maintained facilities, and of course our sponsors and the volunteers for making this tournament possible! Our hopes are to see you next year again!!

The Exiles - existing of expats living in Turkey, Turks living abroad and former Turkish expats - have teamed up and registered to the Istanbul Rugby Sevens tournament, aiming to win this tournament and write history!

Stevie Young - a Welshman in Istanbul - will be skipping the Exiles side, and is much excited to be part of this tournament in Istanbul: "Although we've never played together in this formation, but we are not here to give away any presents. It will be tough for us, but our aim is to be on the grand stand on Sunday afternoon!".

We are proud to announce that Nescafé Xpress will be our Main Sponsor of the event!

Nescafé Xpress brings coffee expertise to the pleasure of ice cold beverages – stimulating and ready for every occasion. It’s perfect as a ‘pick-me-up’ during study, work, play or travel. Smoothly revitalizing!

The new website of the Istanbul Rugby Sevens has been launched as per the 8^th of February, 2010!

The Turkish National Olympic Committee (TMOK) has given their support to the Istanbul Rugby Sevens organization, by providing their well maintained grass pitch - the Annex Field - right next to the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, in Istanbul.

The Istanbul Rugby Sevens organization is powered by the Turkish Rugby Federation (TBSF) to promote Rugby to the Turkish citizens, as well as to promote Turkish Rugby to the international Rugby community. A special thanks goes out to Mr. Şahin Kömürcü, the Chairman of the Turkish Rugby Federation.