The Sudbury Stones Rugby Football Club (RFC), Northern Ontario’s largest rugby club, will be hosting its ninth annual Sudbury Sevens Rugby tournament this Saturday (Oct. 13) at École Sacre Coeur in Sudbury. 

Ten teams from cities across Ontario are set to take part in the club’s largest tournament of the year.

“We’ve noticed an increased level of interest in the sport over the last few years," said tournament director and club president Jeff Sampson. "Internationally speaking, it is as popular a sport as soccer, but it’s slowly making its way across the pond. We’re only too happy to promote it here in Northeastern Ontario.”

Games are set to start at 9 a.m. on Saturday and wrap up with the finals slated for 4 p.m. A barbecue and a host of other activities will also be scheduled throughout the day. On Saturday evening there will be a dinner hosted by tournament sponsor On The Rocks (formerly Cranky Joe’s) with a themed pub-crawl throughout the city to follow.

The public is encouraged to come out and watch the games, and learn more about the sport.

The Sudbury Stones Rugby Football Club is always seeking new players of all skill levels to join. The club currently consists of post-secondary students as well as working professionals from as far as Chile, South Africa, Ireland, Germany, Britain, Columbia, France and New Zealand who now call Sudbury home. They travel on weekends throughout the spring, summer and fall to various tournaments and remain competitive by practicing twice weekly on many of Sudbury’s local sports fields.

Sudbury Stones RFC was founded in 2002. The club has slowly grown to have a modest following of die-hard “ruggers,” as they are often called. The Sudbury Stones have worked diligently over the years to cultivate an exciting and dynamic rugby program in Northeastern Ontario, a press release stated.