Northampton Saints became the first Premiership club side to win the London Pride Middlesex 7s since Leicester in 1995. The Saints beat Newcastle Falcons 31-5 in the final, but the Falcons had done them a favour by ousting strong contenders and former champions, the British Army, in the semi-final.

Since Leicester overcame Ithuba 38-19 in the final at Twickenham in 1995, invitation sides have proved unbeatable in the world’s most famous charity sevens tournament. Teams including Wigan Warriors, the Barbarians and the British Army have all claimed the title. But on Saturday, in the 78th Middlesex Charity 7s tournament, the Premiership clubs proved they were not going to be beaten any more.

The plate competition was won by Gloucester who beat Rotherham, despite being knocked out by the Army in the opening round.

Over 25,000 rugby fans enjoyed the exciting and unpredictable rugby on display in the Twickenham sunshine and there were plenty of stars on show, including Henry Paul, Pat Sanderson, Michael Stephenson and Ugo Monye. New sponsors Fullers embraced the day with beer can post protectors and a pint of beer as a mascot, whilst thirsty rugby fans drank over 10,000 pints of London Pride.