UKAF rugby stars in the mix for the Shield at prestigious US sevens tournament

The UK Armed Forces sevens team is in action in the USA at the Rugby Town 7s in Colorado.

They are one of the 20 teams in the USA competing in the annual sevens tournament. 

Having lost their first two games in the RT7s pool stage of the competition, 26-19 to Gorilla Rugby and 21-12 to the Tsunami Warriors, their form needed to pick up – which it did, with two crucial wins.

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The UKAF side followed up a 43-5 win against Misfits 43-5 with a close 14-12 win over the Ramblin Jesters, who had previously been unbeaten in the tournament.

But their winning form did not continue after the group stages and they were beaten comprehensively 40-7 by the Social Griffin side.

However, there is a silver lining for the UKAF side: they may be out of the running for the Bowl but can look towards the Shield, with the semi-final taking place on Sunday.

The RT7s started in 2012 between rugby programs in the US Armed Forces at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado.

Year after year, the number of participants continued to grow, and it has now become one of the toughest 7s rugby tournaments in the world.

Ahead of the event, BFBS Sport reporter Julian Evans joined the men's and women's UKAF teams at their training in Aldershot to get an inside scoop on their expectations.

The women's squad will be led by former RAF and Wales international Corporal Sian Williams when they take on the Dubai Sevens in November.