Hartlepool rugby gearing up for third year at Bangkok International Sevens

Peter Youll on the attack, picture by Paul Lincoln.

The boss of a united team has named a 10-man squad for the Bangkok International Sevens.

Four clubs make up the party for the event in Thailand.

Aaron Jeffrey will represent Hartlepool RFC, while there is strong Rovers presence in the shape of Callum Whitehead, Adam Smith, Patrick O’Callaghan, Danny Charters, Steven Barnfield and Liam Armstrong, while Seaton Carew have Robin Caswell and Cameron Litgho on board with Aidan Jackson-Smith in from West.

Hartlepool finished seventh on their Bangkok debut in 2018 and last year went even better, finishing third.

The town’s entry into the international event was the brainchild of town rugby figure and businessman, Alby Pattison MBE, the mastermind behind the successful town business, Hart Biologicals.

Unfortunately, two of last year’s successful squad, West’s Peter Youll and the very energetic, Lee Maddison, have been ruled out but the management team of John Bickerstaff and Michael Ainslie are “happy” with the group they have assembled.

“We’ve been very proud of the way the players have represented the town and area and we want to give it another go this time," said Bickerstaff.

“We had a slightly bigger squad last time, but what we may lack in quantity we more than make up on with quality.

“It’s a shame about Pete and Lee not being available.

“But we are happy with the squad we have picked.

“Losing one or two players means that opens up an opportunity for others so we are excited to see how this group of players.

“We have players who have experience of previous tournaments like Adam, Callum, Aidan and Cameron which is good but we have new talent selected for this one so we are looking forward to see how they perform.

“We wanted to take Robin the last two years but he’s been unavailable because of University commitments but this time it’s great to have him on board."

Hartlepool would like to thank the following sponsors for their backing of the squad, AP Consultancy, JB Recycling, Saica Pack and Seymour Civil Engineering.

“Without our sponsors we could not be taking Hartlepool to this prestigious competition, so our thanks to them,” Bickerstaff added.