London Sevens in 1927

A 1927 description of the game at the Middlesex Sevens (also for King Edward Hospital) gives an idea of the novelty of the game to English people:

"You see the field is so open that if a man gets away with the ball a full sized gallop is required to catch him and very often it... wasn't there."

Whereas the Scottish Borders were a rural area, with a population in the tens of thousands, albeit near Edinburgh and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the Middlesex Sevens were more or less in the suburbs of London, a densely populated area and transport hub, which was home to millions. As a result 10,000 spectators attended the second Middlesex tournament. And while the Border Sevens had honed the skills of players in the Scottish rugby heartland, the Middlesex Sevens did likewise for London rugby, with locally based players such as the aforementioned Wavell Wakefield, Carl Aarvold (later Recorder of the City of London) of Blackheath FC, Wick Powell of London Welsh RFC, and John Tallent, who would later become chairman of the Four Home Unions Tours Committee. They rubbed shoulders with various invitation sides such as Sale RFC in 1936, which included such players as Wilf Wooller and Claud Davey of Wales and Ken Fyfe of Scotland amongst their backs; and in 1939, Cardiff RFC, which included players such as Wilf Wooller again, and Les Spence and "Wendy" Davis.

The first ever officially sanctioned international tournament occurred at Murrayfield as part of the "Scottish Rugby Union's Celebration of Rugby" centenary celebrations in 1973. Buy and Sell rugby tickets through yourticketmarket.com, London Sevens Tickets are available here. Buy and Sell London Sevens Tickets and all the Rugby Tickets here.