WORCESTER Warriors returned to Sixways delighted with their first taste of Middlesex Sevens rugby.
The Premiership newboys won through to the semi-finals of the Twickenham tournament before going out to Gloucester on Saturday.
Captained by vastly experienced sevens player Pat Sanderson and including England's star Ben Gollings, Worcester beat Loughborough University 31-12 in the first round before notching an impressive 12-5 quarter final victory over Wasps.
Jon Hylton bagged a brace of tries in the Wasps win before Uche O'Duza scored the solitary touchdown in the semi-final 24-5 defeat to the men from Kingsholm.
It was the British Army -- inspired by their dazzling array of Fijian talent -- that destroyed Gloucester's dream of sevens glory at England HQ.
Trumps
Skipper Howard Graham led his team to a stunning 43-24 triumph, but it was Fijian speed merchants Apolosi Satala, Isoa Damudamu and Epeli Qolikibua who stole the show.
They each claimed try doubles in the final, leaving Gloucester, who had knocked out Newcastle, Saracens and Worcester to reach the final, floundering.
Tries by Alex Page, James Simpson-Daniel, Marcel Garvey and outstanding young prospect James Bailey kept them in contention, but the Army pulled away during the closing stages.
It was their second Middlesex Sevens title in four seasons, and Northampton remain the only Premiership club to have won the competition since 1995.
The tournament's outstanding two teams met in a pulsating clash, watched by a crowd of 28,000, and the Army came up trumps after trailing 14-5 midway through the first-half.
The loss of influential captain Simon Amor with an ankle injury during the Newcastle first round encounter, ultimately cost Gloucester dear.
England sevens skipper Amor left Twickenham on crutches after suffering what appeared to be a serious ankle injury, and although Henry Paul took over the reins, Gloucester just that lacked critical degree of composure at crucial times.
The Army, after receiving a first-round walkover following crisis club Rotherham's withdrawal, knocked out Leicester and London Irish, while Gloucester swept past a dangerous Newcastle outfit, quarter-final opponents Saracens and then Worcester.
In doing so, they paraded a potential star of the new domestic season in former Bristol wing James Bailey, who showed blistering pace, especially during a two-try display against Saracens.
Both Irish and Zurich Premiership newcomers Worcester, whose bid was spearheaded by Sanderson and Gollings, had their moments.
Irish eliminated holders Northampton in the quarter-finals, and Worcester accounted for Wasps, both victors scoring some quality tries, yet they were a notch below the finalists in terms of pace and organisation.
The first round action was overshadowed by further woes for Rotherham, who failed to take their place on the starting grid.
Rotherham were due to kick off the 16-team tournament against the Army, but dropped out after plans for an unnamed consortium to purchase the club collapsed.
Although the Rugby Football Union management board did not oppose the group's bid to acquire Rotherham, who are believed to have debts of £1 million-plus, they rejected a proposal that would have seen the club moved from Yorkshire to Greater London next year and renamed.
And with the club in turmoil, it was no surprise that their sevens campaign did not leave base camp.
Fightback
Northampton, despite being without last season's Twickenham talisman Bruce Reihana, crushed National League One challengers London Welsh 39-0 as new signings Wylie Human and John Rudd scored three of their seven tries in round one.
But the fightback of the day belonged to Leicester, who were 19-7 adrift against first round opponents Bath with five minutes to go before pinching an unlikely win through tries from Scott Bemand, Harry Ellis and Ross Broadfoot.
Results: First round: British Army (bye), Bath 19 Leicester 24, London Irish 17 Harlequins 0, Northampton 39 London Welsh 0, Worcester 31 Loughborough University 12, Wasps 24 Leeds 10, Gloucester 24 Newcastle 14, Saracens 24 Sale Sharks 14.
Quarter-finals: British Army 36 Leicester 19, London Irish 19 Northampton 12, Worcester 12 Wasps 5, Gloucester 26 Saracens 0.
Semi-finals: British Army 21 London Irish 12, Gloucester 24 Worcester 5.
Final: British Army 43 Gloucester 24.
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