Trophies head to Wiltshire after great day of sevens rugby in Bath

Wiltshire clubs won the trophies when the Bath & District Combination staged their 2026 sevens festival on Saturday 1st August.

Trowbridge won the Cup and Devizes secured the Plate at the 2026 Bath Combination 7s | Photo © Powerofflowers / Shutterstock.com

Trowbridge retained the Bath Combination 7s Cup, having also secured it in the 2025 competition at Midsomer Norton – and Devizes lifted the Plate.

Sixteen teams took part in the latest renewal of the event, which was held at Avon’s Hicks Field home. They were split into four pools.

Pool A comprised Avon, Avonvale, Bath Combination Rebels and Midsomer Norton.

In Pool B were Oldfield Old Boys, Frome, Corsham and Melksham.

Old Sulians, Trowbridge, Chippenham and Devizes did battle in Pool C.

And Walcot, Bath Saracens, Bath Combination Barbarians and Bradford-on-Avon faced off in Pool D.

The top two sides from each pool qualified for the Cup quarter-finals. And the four third-placed teams advanced to the Plate semi-finals.

In the Cup quarter-finals, Avonvale got the better of Bradford, Chippenham beat Frome, Trowbridge overcame Oldfield and Walcot saw off Norton.

In the semis, Chippenham dispensed with Avonvale and Trowbridge defeated Walcot, leaving the two Wiltshire outfits to tussle in the final.

Devizes knocked out Melksham in the Plate semis to set up a final clash with Saracens, who downed Avon in the last four.

Fred Goodwin-Hayward earned special praise from the Combination after being named their Barbarians side’s player of the tournament.

A Combination spokesman said: “As the dust settles on another fantastic Bath Combination 7s, we’d like to thank the following people:

“Avon RFC, Iain Parris and all the volunteers who helped make today a special and enjoyable event for local rugby.

“Somerset Rugby Referees for their outstanding officiating. Without them none of this would be possible.

“Our Bath Combination organising team Sean Macey, Alex Dodgson, Nick Heal and all who worked hard to bring the day together.

“Our fantastic volunteer media team James Booth, lan Thomas, Cormac Page, Finn McFarland and Martin Holliwell.

“A big thank you to everyone who played, supported and followed.

“A special thanks goes to everyone who ran out for the Bath Combination Barbarians and Rebels for bagging some extra minutes and keeping the fixtures fulfilled.

“A huge shoutout to the Bath Combination Barbarians player of the tournament, Fred Goodwin-Hayward – turning up solo, clocking minutes for the Barbarians, Rebels and even representing Bath Saracens after injuries took their toll in their finals push.

“This is what grassroots rugby and the Combination is all about: one man, three teams, sevens machine.”

A spokesman for Trowbridge said: “Congratulations to our Bath Combination 7s Cup winners for 2026.

“Thank you Chippenham for a great contest and well done to all the teams involved today.

“A big thank you to the Bath Combination and hosts Avon RFC for a fantastic festival of rugby. Well done to all involved.”

A spokesman for Devizes said: “The Devizes lads headed to the Bath Combination 7s with one of the youngest squads we’ve taken to the tournament in years – and they certainly didn’t get an easy introduction, in a group with last year’s finalists Chippenham and Trowbridge.

“Despite two tough games against quality opposition, the boys never dropped their heads. They stuck at it, learned quickly and showed exactly what this young squad is about.

“Into the Plate competition we went. We beat Melksham in the semi-finals and then produced our best rugby of the day to put Bath Saracens away in the final and bring the Plate back to Devizes.

“A massive thank you to everyone who helped organise the tournament, and to Avon RFC for being fantastic hosts throughout the day.”

Unfortunately what would have been the inaugural women’s competition was cancelled due to teams withdrawing.

The women’s action was due to be staged at Bath Rugby Ladies’ Lambridge Training Ground base and at Hicks Field.