Newsletter from SM 2023
Last weekend, Malmö Rugby Club lined up with both a women’s team and a men’s team to
compete with almost 20 clubs from all over Sweden in this year’s SM 7s.
The ladies had a strong first day with a win over both Hammarby and Wexiö, and a tight
game against last year’s champions Vänersborg, which had them advancing to the play-offs.
Day 2 started off with a convincing win over Göteborg, and followed up with two tough
games against Enköping and Kalmar/Norrköping, ultimately finishing fourth. Last year the
Black Widows finished 8:th, and are now happy with their new ranking.
With almost no 7s training preparing for the event and facing a difficult group with Enköping
and Lugi, it seemed unlikely for the men’s team to go very far. However, once the games
began it soon became clear that the team was underrated and were real contenders for the top
positions. Beating both Enköping, Lugi and Spartacus on day 1 the mens were through to the
final, facing the reigning champions Exiles. Despite injuries and several tough games in the
bank, Malmö managed to put up a game against Exiles. In the end, the players’ experience in
the home team showed and Malmö turned out finishing second.
“Going into the SM we didn’t have very high expectations, we rarely prepare a lot for it and
usually use it as a tournament to have a bit of fun! To our surprise, just having a bit of fun
turned out to be a great 7s strategy and won us a lot of games. Of course it took a lot of hard
work from the boys, but that’s what you always get from MRC players. To finish off, I just
wanna say that I am extremely proud of the boys, every single one, and to come away with a
silver is just a big bonus for us.”
Samuel Ahlbeck, Mens captain
compete with almost 20 clubs from all over Sweden in this year’s SM 7s.
The ladies had a strong first day with a win over both Hammarby and Wexiö, and a tight
game against last year’s champions Vänersborg, which had them advancing to the play-offs.
Day 2 started off with a convincing win over Göteborg, and followed up with two tough
games against Enköping and Kalmar/Norrköping, ultimately finishing fourth. Last year the
Black Widows finished 8:th, and are now happy with their new ranking.
With almost no 7s training preparing for the event and facing a difficult group with Enköping
and Lugi, it seemed unlikely for the men’s team to go very far. However, once the games
began it soon became clear that the team was underrated and were real contenders for the top
positions. Beating both Enköping, Lugi and Spartacus on day 1 the mens were through to the
final, facing the reigning champions Exiles. Despite injuries and several tough games in the
bank, Malmö managed to put up a game against Exiles. In the end, the players’ experience in
the home team showed and Malmö turned out finishing second.
“Going into the SM we didn’t have very high expectations, we rarely prepare a lot for it and
usually use it as a tournament to have a bit of fun! To our surprise, just having a bit of fun
turned out to be a great 7s strategy and won us a lot of games. Of course it took a lot of hard
work from the boys, but that’s what you always get from MRC players. To finish off, I just
wanna say that I am extremely proud of the boys, every single one, and to come away with a
silver is just a big bonus for us.”
Samuel Ahlbeck, Mens captain