Fresh off the back of a hard-fought win at Canterbury, the Sevens home game was the showpiece of the weekend calendar as they faced a confident Holcombe, whose two previous games they’d won comfortably and were looking to increase their tally.

The Sevens were fielding a thin squad. Despite skipper Dan ‘The Mule’ Kennedy returning from foreign shores, they were missing the stalwart back Simon ‘HB’ Hunnibal and, whilst Owen ‘OG’ Gosford, valiantly turned up, he was still clearly suffering from his previous weekend’s food poisoning, which rendered him an emergency substitute, along with the young Andrew Reed – a more regular player for the Eights.

Fielding a largely young team, it was clear from the off that several of the Holcombe players were more experienced at playing in higher league games as they looked to boss to the game, pushing the ball around the pitch confidently, harrying the Seven’s midfield and defensive lines as they sought an early lead.

However, the Sevens were having none of that, and a reverse pass from Richard ‘Tumble’ Price sought the stick of Matt ‘Mjölnir’ Carter, who, after pushing into the D, unleashed a shot that threaded between the keeper’s legs to notch up the first of the game. But it was not to be the last. Spurred into action, the visitors increased the pace and it wasn’t long before they equalised with the game effectively reset deep into the first half and, with several opportunities going begging from both sides, they went into the break honours even.

With a firm tactical talk from Matt ‘Messy’ Goodwin at halftime, and some switching of positions upfront, the second half saw better construct play from the Sevens, with excellent work from the halves of Paul ‘Luce’ Gordon and Tumble, linking up well with the centres of Riley ‘Well Played’ Gordon and Simon ‘Gizmo’ Baker as well as some excellent running from the young Reed, fearlessly taking on the opposition to endeavour to create chances.

A potential stalemate from two well-matched sides looked on the cards, however neither side wanted to walk away from this clash with just a solitary point, and consequently, further goals from each side unfolded: a thundering reverse strike from that man Mjölnir after a great assist from Adam ‘Borris’ Nordone, that deflected off a hapless defender was shortly followed by a further Borris and Mjölnir one-two for a third.

The visitors were undeterred and pulled a goal back and, in what was becoming a more heated exchange seeing both home and visitors being green carded, tempers were starting to flare; a ball strike to Tumble’s face saw the ever-versatile skipper Mule assuming an unfamiliar half back position for a period as the hosts faced further pressure.

A further foray saw keeper Stuart ‘Milk Tray’ Peal – largely sensational for the game, parrying shot after shot, stranded and the ball pinging off a defender meant a penalty flick which Tray was wrong-footed for the score to level at three-all. Was this to be the final score?

Well, no. The Ops stepped up the pressure and, with some ten minutes to go, it was rewarded with a short corner. After injecting, Messy was returned the ball from Mjölnir and patiently weaved his way into the centre of the D to slot home the home side’s fourth.

The visitors were eager to level and would have, save for some stalwart defending from virtually every outfield player as the Seven’s stymied every wave from the Hurricanes. Despite some close calls, Stuart ‘The Crab’ Ingleston and Carl Bondzio cleared the lines – the latter clearing the ball into the shin of Borris from one clearance. But the home side stayed firm, and the game concluded at 4-3.

A clearly exhausted, but elated, Skipper Mule commented at the packed post-match press conference: “What a game – the oppo came here off the back of two good wins, and we knew we’d have a challenge on our hands, but boy, did they make us work hard! Every player that pulled on a Sevens shirt today put in a shift, without exception – great passing and positions, support for each other and, of course, some great goals to boot.

“After last week’s return to form, it was important for us to build on that momentum, and we’ve been rewarded with not just today’s victory, but with other results going our way and this means we’ve returned to the top of the table. Of course, it’s very early days, there’s plenty to work on, but we’re taking nothing for granted – we know there’s plenty of hard games ahead, but, as with our name, we are optimistic that whatever’s in front of us, we can take it on.”