The Withem's Elves Rugby Sevens Team
The History of the Withem's Elves
The Withem's Elves are a relatively new rugby club, having only been formed at the start of 2001. The club was founded by Andy and Simon Rogers at the start of the English rugby sevens season, with the aim of playing in sevens tournaments in the UK and on foreign shores.
Based around the medical profession at St. Mary's Hospital, London; and former students of St. Mary's University, Withem's Elves are an amateur invitational side following in the style of the Barbarians Rugby Club. A provisional committee has been set up and a club constitution laid down:
To convene to select a VIIs squad by invitation, comprising a nucleus of students of medicine and other allied health professions.
To participate in a varied range of seven a side tournaments in the UK and World Wide
To reaffirm the amateur principles upon which the game was founded and to re-emphasise the Corinthian spirit of sportsmanship in which the game should be played.
To encourage an open, expansive and cavalier style of play.
To recognize the legitimate aims of competition for victory alongside an equivalent objective of participation for enjoyment through sportsmanship, competence and flair.
It appears that whilst professional rugby is here to stay, the Withem's Elves concept will continue to grow and expand and be supported by those of us who have played or supported the game of rugby. Our main aim, as the Withem's Elves, is to preserve something that is in danger of disappearing in professional rugby, the traditional rugby ethos; and the recognition that Rugby Union has a great deal more to of fer than merely monetary gain. The Elves are more about the spirit, ideals and traditions of rugby and the upholding of those things that essentially we all played rugby for - fun, camaraderie, a few beers, a lot of tales and rugby deeds that make rugby legends.
At the time of writing, the Elves have competed in the Middlesex Sevens Qualifying tournament where we were unlucky to miss out on qualifying by point's difference alone. Other tournaments that we intend to participate in include:
Twickenham RFC 10's Tournament - Twickenham - September 2001
Cross Key's Harpenden 35th Annual Pub Sevens - Harpenden - September 2001
Miami International Sevens - Miami, FL - November 2001
Trinidad International Sevens - Port of Spain, Trinidad, WI - December 2001
Lisbon International Sevens - Lisbon, Portugal - June 2002
Other invitations have been received and are being considered by the playing committee.
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Serious Rugby, Played for Fun.