Emerging Springbok Sevens Team to kick off new season at Nashua Middelburg 7s
The Nashua Middelburg Sevens festival is bringing world-class sevens action to SA as the emerging South African and Welsh Sevens teams go head-to-head in an epic pre-season clash ahead of this year’s HSBC Sevens World Series.
The festival will be celebrating its sixth year on the 20th and 21st of September as the event plays out at Middelburg Hoërskool. The Welsh and emerging South African men’s sevens teams will be joined by Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana as they lock horns ahead of the 2013 / 2014 season.
Besides the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens tournament that takes place each year in the first week of December, the Nashua Middelburg Sevens festival is the only opportunity local sevens fans will have to watch their favourite South African Sevens players play on home soil.
Fans will also be able to watch some of SA’s top local provincial teams battling it out on Friday and Saturday. Catch the Sharks, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, the Steval Pumas, Border and Toyota Free State as well as a host of local women’s and high school sevens teams. There will even be a “Bulletjie” division this year for under 6s and under 8s where local youngsters will be given the chance to play on the same field as their heroes.
“The decision to sign on as the official tournament sponsor of the Nashua Middelburg Sevens festival was first made by Nashua in 2011 as we saw great potential for the growth of both the event itself and the development of sevens rugby in South Africa,” said Dave Hallas, Marketing Director of Nashua Limited.
“From a development perspective, a coaching clinic will be taking place just prior to this year’s Nashua Middelburg Sevens festival which will be hosted by Living Ball, a professional team that travels the world reaching out to underprivileged communities to give hope through sport to those that need it most. Living Ball will visit 10-15 surrounding schools in the Middelburg region and will also host a clinic for the township teams that Nashua is supporting with jerseys and shorts,” said Hallas.
The Nashua Middelburg Sevens festival, which has become the most anticipated event in Mpumalanga’s annual sporting calendar, has benefited various institutions by donating more than R250 000 to local schools and other charities.
This year’s festival will feature an entertainment park which Spur will be building for children to play in, a world-class beer garden courtesy of Castle and a big screen to catch all of the day’s action on.
“Without giving too much away all we can say is that this year’s event will take on the look and feel of a true international tournament and we look forward to welcoming sevens fans from around the country,” said festival organiser, Jakes van der Merwe.
Tickets cost R20 and will be available from the gate. For more information, visit www.nashuamiddelburg7s.co.za.
