Every side has a first game. Ours was at Hertford RFC on 13 June 2026, in the elite under-23 draw at the first-ever LIT Super Sevens U23 competition — run in partnership with our friends at UR7s.
A new competition
This was not a social tournament with an age cap bolted on. The LIT Super Sevens U23 was set up as a genuinely elite under-23 bracket, men's and women's draws, one venue, one day. For a format that too often jumps straight from age-grade rugby to open-age tournaments, a properly competitive U23 competition fills a real gap.
That was why we wanted in. Not because a year-one side needed a hard first outing — but because it gave a group of younger players a route into competitive sevens that did not otherwise exist.
The inaugural TR7 U23 squad
- 01 Tyler Russell CC
- 02 Harry Liston
- 03 Charlie Gardner
- 04 Nate Atherton CC
- 07 Toby Bryant
- 08 Toby Lafferty
- 09 Elliot Harvey-Evers
- 10 Amaar Khan
- 11 Fraser Wilson
- 12 Seb Stacey
The ten who played, co-captained by Tyler Russell and Nate Atherton. The first side ever to wear the name. Squad numbers as issued on the day.
How it went
Played four, won two, lost two — 113 points scored, 95 conceded. And a detail worth sitting with: the two defeats were by three points and four points. A converted try in each game and TR7's first-ever tournament looks completely different on paper.
Beating UR7s, who put the whole thing on, was a nice way to say thank you.
For a side that had never played a competitive minute together, in the elite draw, against established sevens outfits — we came away thinking we belonged. That mattered more than the record.
No kit, either
Small footnote: the kit had been ordered on 8 May and had not arrived. So TR7's first-ever tournament was played without a single TR7 shirt on the pitch — the boxes turned up five days later.
What we took away
The lasting thing about Hertford was not the rugby. It was that lads who came to us through the UR7s route enjoyed it enough to stay. Fraser Wilson and Seb Stacey both played that day, and both went on to play every single tournament of the season — two of only six ever-presents in TR7's first year. Fraser finished with three tries at Cheltenham.
Seven of these ten were still in the matchday squad at Cheltenham, seven weeks to the day later. A first tournament that hands you players is a good first tournament.
Thanks to UR7s and everyone at Hertford RFC for having us.