Singapore to hold first Midnight Rugby 7s tourney in nine years on April 13

SINGAPORE - Singapore's first midnight rugby tournament in almost 10 years will be held at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium next month as part of the lead-up to the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens.

Organised by the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU), the Singapore Midnight 7s will be an open tournament featuring men and women's. It will start at 7pm on April 13 (Thursday) and continue all the way to 1am on April 14 (Friday). The final rounds will then be played from 3-7pm on April 14, which is Good Friday, a public holiday.

Players can sign up as teams of 12, and teams will vie for cash prizes of S$800, one-year Fitness First memberships for the entire team and Pure Nutrition vouches. The tournament is capped at a maximum of 8 teams for each category and places are limited. Registration details can be found on singaporerugby,com. 

The last time midnight rugby was organised was in 2008 by Blacks Rugby Football Club with both local and overseas clubs taking part. Prizes for the 2017 Singapore Midnight 7s include up to $800 cash, one year Fitness First memberships for entire team and Pure Nutrition vouchers. 

“It will be an interesting experience to play rugby all the way past midnight,” said local actor and 7s rugby ambassador player, Paul Foster.

“We usually play club rugby in the evenings but it will be a memorable experience to play a tournament under the stars and all the way to the early hours of the morning. As it’s a long Easter weekend starting with a holiday on Friday,  I’m sure everyone will have a fun time playing in this interesting tournament.”

Also taking place at Yio Chu Kang on April 14, from 9am to 7pm, is the South-east Asia 7s (SEA 7s) happening from 9am to 7pm.

Sanctioned by World Rugby, the SEA 7s is an ancillary event to the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s which will be held at the National Stadium on April 15 and 16. Eight men’s teams and six women’s teams will be competing.  The men's side will feature two Singapore teams, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, while the women's competition will involve Singapore, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand.

Singapore finished behind Thailand in last year’s SEA 7s in both categories and this year’s final will be held on April 16 at the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s.

“We are looking forward to an exciting week of rugby in Singapore. In addition to the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens held at the National Stadium, the Singapore Midnight 7s as well as the SEA 7s will provide local and regional players and fans opportunities to be better involved this year,” said George Danapal, SRU’s General Manager.

“Last year’s SEA 7s was a great success and we can see the results by looking at how quickly the teams responded to the registration this year. In 2017, we added the Singapore Midnight 7s to allow fans to compete in a friendlier tournament. We hope that through the Singapore Midnight 7s, we can show the social side of rugby where it is a game that brings people together.”

Admission to the Midnight 7s and SEA 7s at Yio Chu Kang Stadium on April 13 and 14 is free. The final of the SEA 7s will be played at the National Stadium on April 15 during the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s. 

For ticketing information about the Singapore Sevens, go to www.singapore7s.sg

Dates of the tournaments:

Singapore Midnight 7s

April 13 - 7pm-1am, Yio Chu Kang Stadium

April 14 - 3pm-7pm, Yio Chu Kang Stadium

South-east Asia 7s

April 14 - 9am-7pm, Yio Chu Kang Stadium

April 15 - 5pm-6pm (Finals), National Stadium