The tournament was founded and organised by former Leicester Tigers and England international tight-head prop, Steve Redfern. In association with Suzanne Lyons, the overseas operations manager for Majorca Beach Rugby and with the full support of Calvia town hall, the Balearic Rugby Federation, key sponsor Pepsi and a number of local bars in Magalluf, this year’s tournament is not only a celebratory one, but the largest yet to have been staged in the resort.
"We started ten years ago in Santa Ponsa with ten teams," Steve Redfern told the Bulletin yesterday. "The following year we moved to Magalluf and this year we have a total of 70 teams competing in the tournament. There are 23 female teams and 47 male sides. We have a total of 1,500 rugby players coming over and are expecting as many as 3,000 spectators over the weekend, judging by previous figures.
"We’ve got nine pitches on the beach and the players will be representing eleven nations. This year’s a special year and we’ve got some of the very first teams coming back to play along with a number of teams which have played every year. I’ve got 25 referees flying in, most of them are former professional refs and we’ve got five or six Spanish teams competing.
"Majorca’s Ponent always put in a good shift. They are in fact the defending champions. Latvia won the women’s tournament last year, and Ponent have now won the tournament four times, so I’m pleased to see them back along with the other local sides.
"It’s good for them, in fact all the teams, because it gives them a chance to play against other nations and improve their game. I know we all like to have some fun over the weekend, but the rugby is taken very seriously and it’s great to see how the game is expanding rapidly here in Majorca and across the Balearics in general."
So, you know where to be this weekend.
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