London City 7s: Rugby returns to the HAC in boost for Square Mile
Those who have trodden the streets of the City’s Finsbury Square and the surrounding area will be well aware of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC).
Guarding the rare expanse of City grass is Armoury House, home of the HAC since 1735.
It boasts its own cricket, football and rugby clubs, and is flanked on all sides by the likes of the London Metal Exchange, SAS Institute and the London School of Business and Finance.
It was also the home of Saracens in the City, an event which saw the Premiership club host a pre-season friendly centred around the commercial opportunities the Square Mile provides.
The HAC, however, had seemingly been ditched by the great and good of the sport. Until now.
Because on 1 May the likes of Spain, Harlequins, Saracens and corporate giants will field teams in the inaugural London City 7s.
London travesty
“It’s been two years now since the sevens [World Series] has not happened in London, and the fact that there’s no leg of the new World SVNS series in Europe, let alone London, is a bit of a travesty,” organiser Dan James tells CityAM.
“We want to step into that space with a bit of gusto and do something exciting.”
James used to work with World Rugby developing the current HSBC SVNS Series, which has ditched London completely having been a popular destination for fans on the circuit.
But the London City 7s will see a mix of international, domestic and invitational teams playing against each other across the Thursday, while the bar remains open until 2am.
It is, James hopes, the beginning of a new franchise model that will take in key global cities with a mixture of teams, local and international, involved.
“The way we’re positioning this is that it is the first Thirsty Thursday of the summer,” he says. “It’s getting darker later, hopefully a bit warmer, and it is just before the bank holiday weekend.
“So you’re expected to be in the office for half of the day but you can probably get away with being out for the afternoon for some lubricated networking.”
London City 7s bonanza
There’s no disguising it, the London City 7s is certainly a throwback to the traditions of the Square Mile Thursday – where the haunts are five deep at the bar and the sun shines on the avenues that converge on the Bank interchange.
This event seems to encapsulate the urge to keep the City relevant and modern in our sporting calendar, with events such as the London Marathon also playing that role, while tapping into the cultural habits that have made the Square Mile such a networking hub.
And commercially speaking, James and the London CIty 7s are already seeing the benefits of choosing the financial district.
Bomb Squad Lager – created by Springbok double Rugby World Cup champions Steven Kitshoff and Malcolm Marx – is on board while Stadium Support Services is helping with the venue and Looseheadz is the charity partner.
But what is the bigger picture? James insists there’s a space for this, given how disunited sevens as a rugby discipline is.
“So the way we want to position this,” he adds, “Is one leg of a city series, so four to six locations around the world as part of a franchise tournament – an IPL [Indian Premier League cricket] or LIV Golf-style event.
“But we’ve got to do London and do it very well first.
“Hopefully, if this does go well, when it does go well, we’ll then be moving into that global space very aggressively, to pull together something that rugby hasn’t had before.”
Sun, sangria and City sevens
What’s better than sun, sangria and sevens? Sun, sangria and sevens in the City.
London City 7s appears to fill the gap left by the sevens circuit when it ditched the UK.
Spain are confirmed as the first international team, with exciting rumours surrounding which other jet setters could land in the capital to take part, and Saracens and Harlequins will send teams too.
Throw in some corporate fun and networking and the foundations are there for a superb event, with both general admission and hospitality tickets available to purchase.
“If we can give it the foundation to stand on,” James concludes. “I think it can play a big part in revitalising rugby as a sport for the younger audiences.
“Rugby is not even in the top 20 of most engaged sports for the younger generation of Gen Z which is really damning.
“This is a shorter game with less politics – it’s very engaging. We’ve got a very good opportunity here to try and recapture that younger market while still delivering something which serves the old boys.”