A who's who of rugby royalty will descend on the seaside town of Kiama on Saturday for the 52nd annual Kiama Sevens.
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Wallaroos sensation Mahalia Murphy and former Australian Sevens superstar and now Cronulla Sharks NRLW star Emma Tonegato are expected to play for the Burraneer Rays [Burra Rays] in the biggest one-day sevens event in Australia.
Kiama Sevens match-day coordinator Chris Meizer said the Kiama Sevens had grown significantly over the years to now be considered the biggest one-day sevens event in Australia.
"It's taken a lot to get here and we're very proud of the tournament that we run," he said.
"This tournament is very important on the Australian rugby calendar
"This year there will be 44 teams across six divisions. The action at Kiama Showground starts at 8am and runs until about 6.45pm."
Meizer, who is also Kiama Rugby Club vice-president, was expecting the new tackle rules introduced for community rugby to lead to more free-flowing rugby.
"The changes which have come into effect since February 10 are big I think, especially in terms of ball movement," he said.
"I think that we'll see maybe even greater ball movement in sevens, which is something that's pretty exciting for fans and players alike.
"It will be interesting to see how that new law is going to be policed by referees and also how it changes coaching in rugby, and whether that'll transfer into fifteens for the Illawarra season and across Australian rugby."
Regardless Meizer was expecting some fast and furious action in both the men's and women's competition.
Teams from all across the country, including one from Western Australia will compete in the Kiama Sevens.
Meizer fancied the usual suspects to again challenge for the title in the premier men's division, including Gordon, Warringah, Manly and a couple of Canberra sides.
"In the women's we've got UTS Gordon and the Burra Rays, who have a couple of genuine superstars in Mahalia Murphy from the Wallaroos and Emma Tonegato who was a former member of the Australian Sevens program.
"They will definitely be hard to beat. Sydney University are also strong.
"The girls game has come on leaps and bounds, so we expect the women's premier division to be very hotly contested."
The Kiama Sevens Cup will be presented to the Champion Club with Plate presentation for the runners-up.
There will be seven trophies and over $30,000 in prize money up for grabs on Saturday.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
