Following on from the success of last year's tournament, the Shetland Mid-Summer Sevens appears to have once again re-established
itself within the local sporting calendar with another excellent weekend of rugby and social activities. The 2005 event was the 20th
tournament to be staged by Shetland RFC and saw a record number of teams traveling from the mainland.
Glorious sunshine on Friday evening ensured the weekend got off to a great start with a team comprising of mainly visiting players from
Montrose coming out victorious in a mixed touch rugby tournament. There had also been a bus tour organised for the visiting players during
the day.
The main event on Saturday saw twelve teams competing for the P&O Cup. The local Shetland Select showed very early promise in the group
stages, winning games against Ross Sutherland and IIC Raiders 43-0 and 56-0 respectively. The quick thinking and pace of Nathan Coote
saw him end the day as top local try scorer, with the prolific boot of Robert Geddes seeing him end as top overall point scorer.
Aberdeen Wanderers and Greenock Wanderers joined Shetland in the semi-finals with convincing wins in both their group games. Completing
the semi-final line up were Montrose who emerged victorious after close fought games against RAF Saxa Vord and Sullom Voe Terminators.
It was particularly pleasing to see RAF Saxa Vord back in action within Shetland rugby circles after an absence of a number of years.
Having won the tournament in 2004 Greenock Wanderers were red hot favourites from the outset. The effects of the previous evening's
local hospitality seemed a distant memory as they swept aside Aberdeen Wanderers with a convincing 45-7 victory. Shetland earned their
place in the final for the first time in a number of years with a deserved 24-0 victory over Montrose.
Sadly for Shetland they were beaten 19-0 in the final by the men from Greenock. The game was much closer than the score line suggested,
particularly given that Greenock are five divisions above Shetland in the national league set up. On a brighter note for Shetland,
the efforts of Nathan Coote were rewarded as he collected the player of the tournament award.
The beaten teams from the group stages went into separate competitions for the Plate, Shield and Wooden Spoon. Montrose Mermaids
overcame a much improved Lerwick Spurs and RAF Saxa Vord to lift the STO Plate. The Sullom Voe Terminators walked away with the
Shetland RFC 125th Anniversary Shield.
The game of the day proved to be the battle to avoid the wooden spoon. In a game that swung from end to end, it was the Shetland Colts
who completed a fantastic comeback to edge out IIC Raiders by 21-19. Unfortunately for the Raiders, a number of their players had been
unable to travel north due to flights being disrupted by fog.
A three team ladies' tournament was held on the Sunday with St Andrews University Ladies emerging victorious over Shetland and the
Northern Isles Belles, a team comprising of local players and three lasses from the Orkney Ladies team. The local teams were sadly
depleted by the early losses of Karin Olivier and Lesley Mouat due to injury. The local player of the tournament was Mel Inkster.
Running concurrently with the ladies tournament were age group events down to primary 6 and 7. The large number of competitors
underlined the growing popularity of rugby amongst the younger generations in Shetland. All boys taking part were treated to a
barbeque afterwards and prizes donated by Sullom Voe oil terminal.
Shetland RFC President Forbes Hogg commented that "This year's event had been without a doubt the most successful tournament the
club had ever staged". He also thanked the main tournament sponsors BP and their partners in the Sullom Voe oil terminal, Northlink for
their continued commitment to local rugby and Lerwick Community Council for financial support towards the club's marquee.
Having missed their ferry on the Sunday night, visiting referee Graham Knox from Greenock had the last word as he proclaimed on Monday
morning that "The Shetland Mid-Summer Sevens are undoubtedly unique and certainly rank as one of, if not the best rugby sevens
tournament in Scotland."