The inaugural Blacks Midnight 7s in 2006 celebrated the 50th anniversary of Blacks Rugby Football Club's (BRFC's) men's wing and the 10th anniversary of the women's wing. With strong participation from internationall sides and a theme that could hardly be forgotten, Blacks Midnight 7s has made a mark of its own on the rugby calendar in this region.
Blacks Anchor 10s
No greenhorn to tournament hosting, BRFC has been hosting highly competitive tournaments for over 20 years. The year 2000 marked the 27th year of BRFC's annual Blacks 10s (or better known to many as the Blacks Anchor 10s). For over 2 decades, Blacks 10s saw teams from some of the best rugby clubs In the region (i.e. Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei) coming together.
Blacks Women 7s
Todate, BRFC is the only club in Singapore to have organised and run a tournament for women's contact rugby in Singapore. The inaugural Blacks Women's 7s in 1998 saw teams from Japan and Thailand which made an indelible mark in the local women's rugby scene. In 2000, the BRFC Women stamped their mark by emerging champions on home ground in the Blacks Women's 7s.
2007 saw the introduction of the U20 Girls' category in the Blacks Girls 7s curtain raiser and the inclusion of the junior rugby fixtures. The first night of the tournament consisted of pool matches on a round robin basis which was followed by a cinderella themed midnight moment!
The second day started early with the girls category and the playoffs. The young girls in the Under 20 Girls’ category displayed fearless determination and perseverance – true to the spirit of the sport. The Cup final saw Thailand Huayjorakae School securing a comfortable win against RP Voldemort in their 31-0 victory.
The Blacks Midnight 7s Men’s Cup final featured a tightly fought match between Bucks Rugby and NS Wanderers Rugby. Bucks clinched the Men's Cup with a narrow score of 3-0.
The Thai Women Barbarians came back stronger this year and swept the Cup from Blacks Power in the Jane Lee Women’s Challenge with a score of 31-0.
In its third year, the Blacks Midnight 7s & 10s tournament was played over the weekend of Friday, 29th – Saturday, 30th August 2008 with participation from international, local men’s and women’s teams in a staggering number of 7 categories - Women’s 7s, Men’s 10s, Men’s 10s Masters, U21 Girls 7s, Boys 10s (U14 & U12 years).
A total of 45 teams from all age groups took part in the festival of action-packed rugby and good fun. The two pitches at Saint Andrews saw a total of 118 games of rugby 7s and 10s played over the 2 days and some 700 players from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Lao PDR display their skills for the enthusiastic crowds.
There was some tough competition for the Men’s category with Malaysian semi-professional teams NS Wanderers Rugby Club and COBRA in the mix. The hard-fought finals saw a lively ITE beat NTU for the Shield and SMU edged out Bedok Kings in the Bowl final. Whilst Bucks Rugby took the plate against SCC in the Plate, the finals was an all Malaysian affair with NS Wanderers eventually beating COBRA for the Men’s 10s Cup Champions title and the prize money.
In the Jane Lee Women’s 7s Challenge, new comers City Girls from Hong Kong came in runners up to Bucks Rugby in the Shield Finals whilst HKFC Ice Ladies, here for their second time, took out Blacks Ranger in the Bowl Final. The Plate winners were Wantoks who saw off SRC Skyllas and in a third year repeat of the women’s finals the Thai Women Barbarians faced off against Blacks Power. It was a nail-biting final with the Thais just edging out Blacks Power for the Jane Lee Women’s 7s Challenge Cup.
In the other categories, the Blacks Over 35 stamped their mark in the Masters Men’s 10s with plenty of flair over the San Miguel Wanderers. The Thais from Kajanadit School showed again why 7s is best suited to them in the U21 Girls Category when they beat RP Ping from Republic Poly in the finals. In the U16 Boys 10s, the Henly Centaur Colts saw off the Blacks TRY Rugby boys for the Champions Title and in the U13 Boys category Zhenghua Primary flexed their muscles to take out the Blacks TRY Rugby team.
Celebrations did not end on the pitch as the teams proceeded to the traditional pyjama party at Ba-ra-cu-da Bar at Boat Quay. It was certainly a tournament for the books and a great celebration of rugby over two very exciting days.