This will be the first time SIRU has held a 7s competition, with the action to be held over two Saturdays — October 31 and November 7.
Both rounds will include three pool games and two finals fixtures for each team, giving every team five games in total regardless of positioning on the ladder.
Drovers president Paul Marshall said players will have the chance to showcase their skills, with the best in the comp selected for the SIRU side that will compete in the Premier 7s competition.
‘‘As COVID-19 hit its peak, Southern Inland Rugby Union and Brumbies were looking at alternate competition structures in case the regular season did not go ahead,’’ Marshall said.
‘‘With this planning, a proposed Premier 7s competition in Canberra has been on the cards for some time and will include a SIRU representative side.
‘‘While this planning was happening, it was always the league’s intention to introduce a 7s competition for the SIRU clubs, regardless of the status of the regular season.
‘‘During our competition, SIRU selectors and coaches will begin selecting players who they would like to participate in Premier 7s for SIRU.
‘‘Current plans are for a men’s, women’s and Colts (U20s) team to participate.’’
While this is the first time the Drovers have been involved in a 7s format, the club has previously played in a Leeton 10s pre-season competition.
Despite the change in game play, Marshall is confident in his club’s ability to perform well in the 7s format.
‘‘This is the first time a post-season competition has been developed. The 7s format is new to the competition, though our players shouldn’t have too much trouble adapting to it.
‘‘There was a unanimous vote of support to continue on the season beyond the end of the home-and-away matches.
‘‘The seven round competition didn’t necessarily satisfy our players’ appetites, and so the team will continue with their training program in the lead-up to this two week competition.
‘‘There’s a limit of one team per competition so we’ve nominated one men’s team to compete in this format, allowing us to concentrate on that team of 12 players with five on the bench each game.’’
Venues for the 7s competition will be announced at a later date.
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