On 18 July 2026 we went to Rugby St Andrews RFC for the Hamplified Charity 7s. We won every game we played, and came home with a piece of local history we did not entirely see coming.
Our own kit, our own town
This was TR7's first tournament in TR7 colours — the kit having landed exactly a month earlier. It was also the first time the squad looked like the squad we had been describing to people: lads who have played for Rugby Lions, Newbold on Avon and Rugby St Andrews, a few mates who came along for the ride, and several of the U23 players who ran with us at Hertford in June and decided to stick around.
Playing a tournament in the town the club is named after, at a club we have all played against, in front of people who actually know us — that is a different feeling to turning up somewhere as strangers.
A guest coach
We also had Beth Wilcock with us for the day as guest coach — a Premiership Women's Rugby player with Harlequins Women who has also represented England at sevens.
Having someone who has played the abbreviated game at that level in your corner for a one-day tournament is worth more than it might sound. Sevens is not fifteens with fewer people; the decisions are different, the spacing is different, and the margins are brutal. Beth's read on when to hold width and when to go was sharp all day, and the younger lads in particular took a lot from it.
Genuinely grateful she gave up her Saturday for us.
The squad — our first senior competition
- 01 Tyler Russell
- 02 Liam Leeson
- 03 Gavin Tippins
- 04 Nate Atherton
- 05 Ciaran Leeson C
- 06 Harry Murphy
- 07 Toby Bryant
- 08 Toby Lafferty
- 09 Elliot Harvey-Evers
- 10 Charlie Jones
- 11 Fraser Wilson
- 12 Seb Stacey
- 13 Tom Oglethorpe
- 14 Joe Porter
Fourteen named, fourteen used. Ciaran Leeson captained.
The day
Scores from the day were not recorded — if you have them, or you filmed any of it, we would love a copy.
Five out of five, and a final rematch against Old Laurentian, who we had already met in the pool. Beating the same side twice in a day is never straightforward — they knew exactly what was coming the second time.
The cup
What we did not fully appreciate until the presentation was what we were actually being handed.
The Rugby Advertiser Cup was first played for in 1950, to raise money for the "Sportsman's Bed" at Rugby St Cross Hospital. It was contested until 1990 and then went into a cupboard for thirty-six years. Rugby St Andrews, Hamplified and Rugby & District RFU brought it back for 2026.
TR7 are the first name on it since 1990. It deserves a great deal more than a paragraph here — we have written the full story of the trophy on its own page.
The festival, and the film
Hamplified is a rugby tournament inside a music festival, in aid of the Matt Hampson Foundation, which supports young people seriously injured through sport. The rugby finishes, the bands start, and the whole thing raises money for a cause that matters enormously round here.
We teamed up with The Camera Guys on two films from the day — one following us, and one covering the festival itself. The hope for the second one is straightforward: more people see it, more people come next year, and the event raises more than it did this year.
Hamplified 2026 — the rugby, the music, the day. Filmed and cut by The Camera Guys.
Our own film from the day — five games, five wins and the cup — is on the homepage.
Thanks to Rugby St Andrews RFC and everyone behind Hamplified. Great day, great cause, and we will be back to defend it.