On Saturday the Guinness Open has attracted the largest field of teams seen in over twenty years, with half of the thirty sides coming from outside the province. In Group A the young ‘SpoonAAs’ will be wanting to see off the local opposition, while Pigbarians, who are based in Dundee University, will be looking to progress to the next round. Last years winners Kidney Bean will see early challenges to their crown from the Ulster Exiles in Group C. The Exiles are managed by Dungannon stalwart Mark Henderson and is made up of Ulster students currently studying across the British Isles including Mark’s son Chris. The London based Spartans arrive as an unknown package in Group D, as do Llantwit Fardre from Wales but they will both have to watch out for local side, Down Exiles, who might have a strong South Sea Island influence. Enniskillen man Maurice Finlay has brought over a strong panel of over forty players from his adopted home of Newcastle, with the Novocastrians keen to progress in Group E, however Carrickfergus coach Billy Montgomery in his last fixture after four years in charge, will be keen to see his home town boys finish his tenure on a high. Finally in Group F the Dirty Sanchez team from Edinburgh, which is made up of friends of Ulster and Scottish star Rob Dewey could be the dark horses of the competition but Cooke after a long absence will be wanting to make up for lost years, while the newly formed Ulster Titans will be wanting to impress the local rugby public. Needless to say the PSNI will be keeping a close eye on all of them.

The Sunday competitions have thrown together some equally mouth watering ties with the winners of the Manvik Premier tournament for the last two years, the DHL Irish Exiles facing a stiff challenge to their title from the professionally based Samurai International who will go head to head at 12:30 on pitch 1, following the Wild Geese parachute Display team delivering their match ball. The Ulster Presidents whose players will be selected from the ranks of the current Ulster squad will be eager to impress the local crowd but they will have to dispose of sevens specialists Mels Exiles from Wales if they are going to place any silverware in the Ravenhill trophy cabinet.

The Lombard ladies 10s will again bring a fantastic mix of commitment and fun to the event, however Cooke may have difficulty holding onto their title, with a number of highly competitive sides drawn from England and Wales making the trip over. Irish International referee Simon McDowell will just be hoping that all competitors end the game fully clothed this year.

In addition to the on field action there will be plenty of live music in the Guinness Marquee on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, so to secure your tickets early, contact the clubhouse on 02893 351033. The committee has also worked to hard to secure additional car parking areas adjacent to the rugby pitches and in the grounds of Woodlands Presbyterian church just around the corner. So get down as early as possible to make sure you don’t miss out on any action. For any additional information please go to http://www.carricksevens.co.uk/  

Click here to see the results of the draw