By Jonathan Spencer

ST PAUL’S Pirates sevens manager Paddy Dean is hopeful his side’s togetherness will reap more rewards as they gear up for next month’s 24/Sevens South West play-off.

St Paul’s Pirates, originating from the University of Gloucestershire, won the Hartpury Sevens competition back on May 14, with the tournament having been selected as one of 32 local qualifiers to host England Rugby’s inaugural community sevens competition, the 24/Sevens series.

24/Sevens is an exciting new community sevens series that aims to grow rugby and increase participation among men and women in clubs.

It means St Paul’s Pirates will now strut their stuff at Sandy Park on July 9 – the home of Premiership runners-up Exeter Chiefs – looking to book a spot at the national grand final at the end of the month.

And Dean, who occasionally plays for his side, claims that both the quality of the opponents and their team spirit pushed them on to victory at Hartpury Sevens as he hopes lightning can repeat at least one more time.

“It was a really good day at Hartpury artpursand obviously the facilities were second to none,” he said.

“The standard was pretty good and none of the games were particularly easy.

“We have a great togetherness as we are all mates on and off the pitch. We go a long way back and we have played together for years.

“We haven’t really got any aims for the South West play-off, we will treat every tournament as it comes.

“We were runners up in the Bournemouth Sevens in the National Cup, so we predominantly want to back it up there and hopefully we can.”

Dean is also delighted that rugby sevens will be showcased to the world at the Rio Olympics later this summer as the sport continues to go from strength to strength.

He added: “It is fantastic that it is in the Olympics to raise the profile of the sport and it will raise the standard.

“I think the speed of the game and how a game can change so quickly is great and I am pretty sure it will be a success.”

England Rugby 24/Sevens, a new exciting grassroots sevens competition for all rugby teams, welcoming anyone who just wants to pick up a ball and run, for fun or glory. Visit www.englandrugby.com/24sevens to get involved