Day 1: Festival Report & Results

The Corporate Sevens tournament was won by Manchester Metropolitan University, beating Village Hotels by 24-17 in the final.

Don’t forget, you can also get live 2012 results, festival updates, photos and news via the Manchester 7s Festival Facebook and Twitter pages. Make sure you mention us and share/ re-tweet our messages to your friends!

Car Parking

Please visit the Travel Page for Car Park locations, directions and the festival site map – Click Here

Box Office Opening Times
Friday: 18.00 – 22.00
Saturday: 09.00 – 21.00
Sunday: 09.00 – 21.00

Tickets
If you have purchased a ticket from Ticketmaster you must bring the ticket/ and or email receipt with you and exchange at the Box Office for a Festival wristband.

Children under 12yrs may enter the festival free bust must accompanied by an adult at all times. Concession tickets apply to valid holders of OAP and NUS cards and those aged up to and including 16. You must be 18yrs+ to enter the Campsite and be inside the Festival Marquee after 20.00.

Alcohol
No spectators or players may bring alcohol into the Festival Arena, Campsite or Car Park. This is club, council and festival policy. Bags will be checked on entry.

Food & Drink
Light snacks and soft drinks may be brought into the Festival Arena. Picnic baskets, hampers and bags of food will not be allowed to enter the Festival Arena. There are a variety of catering units on site serving very tasty food.

Live Scores & Festival Updates
For Live Results during the festival please – Click Here. You can also get live 2012 results, festival updates, photos and news via the Manchester 7s Festival Facebook and Twitter pages.

Animals
Animals may not enter the Festival Arena.

Team Registration Times
Fri: 12.00-12.30 (Corporate 7s) / 18.00 – 22.00 (All other teams)
Sat & Sun: 08.30 – 09.30

Fixtures
We do not publish fixtures until the day of the tournament. Expect to kick off at 10.00.

Campsite Rules
Please visit the Campsite Page – Click Here

Cash Point
There is a cash point at the petrol station opposite the festival site, this is approximately 3-4 minutes walk from the box office.

Fancy Dress
Fancy dress is a must, no excuses!

Music
We have some great bands and solo artists playing at the festival. For more information, videos and set times please Click Here

Opening Party
The Campsite opens at 18.00 and the bands will start playing soon after! Whether your camping or not, come along and enjoy a full evening of entertainment!

See you all soon!
The MR7s Team

The MR7s Team have been working very hard behind the scenes with Who Dares Wins Events, organisers of the popular Manchester based Find Your Feet Festival, to put together a talented lineup of artists.

We encourage all campers, spectators and players to get down to the opening party on Friday evening. The campsite opens at 18.00 and the bands will start playing in the Festival Marquee soon after!

For a taste of the bands please click on the links or watch the videos below.

Friday Opening Party:  The Brightsparks , Shoshin , Cocabelle (Acoustic Set)

Saturday:  The Crombies , The Quangos , Endeavours , Gem O’Reilly (Acoustic) , ProjectAURA

Sunday:  Turrentine Jones , Dog19 , Little Volcanoes , Ben Mooney (Acoustic) , The Slow Readers Club 

The High Flyer tests your strength, explosive speed, balance and ball skills to the max. Have you got what it takes to be a High Flyer?

After a small donation to Wings For Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation, you will take on the rugby focused test.  You will be up against the power sledge, tyre sprints and passes followed by dispatching kicks to smash the record. A time will be set by our sport specialists; if you beat that time you will be recognised as a ‘High Flyer’.  The fastest overall time wins the following prize -

The participant who sets the fastest time will win a training day for 10 with England 7s coach, Faye Downey. Have a go and win it for your 7s team?!

All this for a great cause: The Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injury. We distribute grants to cutting edge medical research projects and clinical trials throughout the world, and also facilitate the development of technology designed to reduce the risk of injury, particularly during sport. Thanks to a corporate partnership with Red Bull, the administrative costs are covered which means that 100% of donations will go to the research. Check out www.wingsforlife.com for more info.

The match will be played on the main pitch and will kick off at 15.00. Interestingly, Broughton Park FC is located in Lancashire and sits very close to the border of Cheshire. With the match conveniently located for local spectators and its inclusion within the festival a bumper crowd is expected.

Marco Vaghetti, Festival Director, commented – “We are delighted to be hosting the Lancashire v Cheshire County Championship match during the 2012 Manchester 7s Festival. Hosting a prestigious rugby match of this nature, with all the history and local rivalry, is a very exciting prospect and will no doubt enhance the atmosphere at the festival. With the winner possibly heading to Twickenham a week later to play in the County Championship Final, we look forward to an enthralling game of rugby. Many thanks must go to both Broughton Park FC and Lancashire Rugby for their hard work behind the scenes in planning the match.”

Tommy Hughes, Lancashire RFU President, commented – “Lancashire are delighted to announce that their Bill Beaumont County Championship fixture against Cheshire will take place at Broughton Park on Saturday 19th May. Lancashire are of course, defending County Champions, having won the Bill Beaumont Cup for the last three years, and this fixture will be a part of the county’s attempt to continue that run. The Manchester 7s event has gone from strength to strength in the time since it began, and the Lancashire County RFU are pleased to be a part of this exciting rugby venture, which will showcase all that is best about the game in the north-west of England.”

Alan Bramhall, Chairman of Broughton Park FC, commented - “The Club is honoured to be hosting the County game which brings County Rugby back to the City of Manchester after a long gap.  It is another tribute to the work that the Club, the City Council and the RFU are doing to develop rugby in a hotbed of football”

Another recent addition to the Manchester 7s is the Boys U13’s 7s tournament, which will run alongside the current U12, U14 and U15 Boys tournaments on Sunday 20 May. The organisers are keen to encourage schools and clubs from around the UK to enter and point out the festival is a unique opportunity for junior players to both play and watch World Class rugby sevens on the same day. Teams lucky enough to reach the finals will have the opportunity to meet England and British Lions Legend Jason Robinson, who has confirmed he will be presenting the trophies.

For further news about the match and for ticket offers please keep your eye on the Lancashire Rugby website.

Band Name: The Quangos
Hometown: Manchester
Genre: Indie/Rock/Soul
Facebook:  Click Here
YouTube Video:   Click Here

Keep your eye on the website as more bands will be announced soon!

The Warriors, in partnership with Piranha Guard custom fit Mouthguards, Life for Kid charity & Manchester 7s have worked hard to put the impressive event together.

The competition is a 7-a-side open-age touch tournament open to anyone who wishes to submit a team. As well as competing for the Piranha Guard Cup the winning team can expect a cheque for £500 and more importantly, on the day, the winners of the tournament will have the opportunity to play against a team of Rugby League All Stars such as Iestyn Harris, Paul Deacon, Paul Newlove, Gary Connolly and many more. In addition, the final game will be controlled by special guest referee and rugby league superstar Sam Tomkins.

Sam Tomkins said; “I am really excited by the event and think that it’s a great opportunity for players to showcase their talents. The whole weekend is a chance for people to really enjoy themselves whilst playing Rugby in a great city.”

Marco Vaghetti (Manchester 7s Festival Director) said; “We are delighted to have Wigan Warriors on board, it is a great opportunity to expand the event into Rugby League and we are excited by the host of sports stars that are attending the event. We are confident that it will be a huge success and become an important date in the Rugby League calendar.”

Anyone wishing to enter a team should contact Mike Wearden at Wigan Warriors on 01942 770 437 or via e-mail at: m.wearden@wiganwarriors.com

“I am very much looking forward to attending the 2012 Manchester 7s, it looks a really exciting sports & music festival for all the family” commented Jason, a former Sale Sharks, British Lions and England international.

In addition to Jason Robinson’s presence, those attending the festival will also have the opportunity to meet Wigan Warriors superstar Sam Tomkins. Many rugby fans will recall Tomkins recently played and scored for the Barbarians at Twickenham against Australia.

Jason and Sam join a long list of international rugby players who have attended the Manchester 7s since the festival launched back in 2009. Here are just a few of those players – Ben Foden, Phil Greening, Henry Paul and Andy Titterrell.

Since retiring from rugby Jason has been very busy off the field. Most notably his involvement with Proskins, specialists in the field of high technology fabrics and compression wear, and also launching his own clothing range, details of which can be found on his website www.JasonRobinson.co.uk

To enter the Manchester 7s competition to win a signed Jason Robinson shirt and a huge bundle of rugby goodies please Click Here.

• 15x Weekend Tickets for you and your friends
• 1 nights stay for 2 people at a luxury Village Hotel on Saturday 19 May
• Proskins Active Compression Top
• Signed Jason Robinson Rugby Shirt
• Team Piranha Gumshield worth £49.99
• Manchester 7s Rugby Ball
• Manchester 7s T-shirt
• Crate (x24 cans) of Red Bull
• Wigan Warriors Rugby Shirt
• 4x Tickets to the Rugby League Magic Weekend
• Rampant Sporting T-shirt
• £25 Rampant Sporting Gift Voucher

Entering the competition is very simple -

FIRST STEP – you must claim a ‘2012 Competition No.1’ photo. The competition photos have been added to the Photos section within the Manchester 7s Facebook Page. To claim a ‘2012 Competition No.1’ photo, please write your name in the comment box in one of the photos.

LAST STEP – Tag 15 friends in the competition photo you have claimed. Your entry is now complete!

*Please do not write your name or tag your friends in a photo that has already been claimed by someone else.

The winning Photo will be picked at random and announced on Monday 23 April 2011.

Get tagging and good luck!

Endeavours have been around for 2 and a half years and have already performed on ITV, BBC Radio and last year came first in national competition at the O2 in London for the chance to play at the MTV Breakout Festival in the Maldives. At the Breakout Festival they played to over 10,000 people and then spent the following couple of months headlining at a number of O2 Arenas including Liverpool, Birmingham and Shepherds Bush Empire later this month.

Genre: Indie/pop/Alternative
Myspace:  www.myspace.com/endeavoursmusic
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/endeavoursmusic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/endeavoursfans
Website:  http://www.endeavoursmusic.co.uk/
YouTube Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZKzjWI8bzg

Turrentine Jones is a British three-piece band which formed in Manchester, United Kingdom in 2010. The group consists of Australian songwriter Jude Neville (vocals and guitar), Thomas Scotson (Hammond Organ) and Chris Carcamo (drums).

Genre: Indie/Blues
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/turrentinejones
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/turrentinejones
Website: http://www.turrentinejones.co.uk/
YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/turrentinejonestv

More bands will be announced over the next few weeks, in the mean time give the above a listen!