Mitch in Sevens heaven

JOEL RITCHIE

KIAMA Rugby Club’s Mitchell Payne has returned from playing with the Australian Legends team at the Darwin Sevens.

Mitch, who usually plies his trade as Kiama’s first grade halfback, was selected in the Legends team for the Darwin tournament after being spotted at the 2007 Kiama Sevens.

There, the manager of the Legends offered Payne a spot in the side if any vacancies emerged.

Fast-forward to December, when Payne was invited to play in the Darwin Sevens, billed as the “hottest sevens in the world”.

He was the only member of the Australian Legends squad to not be playing first grade rugby in either Sydney or Canberra.

Although their name suggests otherwise, the Legends consist of up-and-coming players.

“It was mostly younger guys but they were good,” Payne said.

“One guy had played touch for Australia and a few played in the (now defunct) Australian Rugby Championship.

“It was a great experience; I have never really played representative rugby before so I learnt a lot.”

The Australian Legends made it to the quarter-finals of the Darwin tournament, only to fall to a side consisting of South Africans that normally play in the IRB World Sevens tournaments.

Payne said he was surprised by the amount of playing time he received in the elite tournament.

“I was nervous because of the calibre of guys I was playing against but I felt I held my own,” he said.

Payne was accompanied to Darwin by Kiama Rugby Club figures Mark Bryant, Tony Rogers and Peter Hart.

With the Darwin experience out of the way, Payne and the rest of Kiama Rugby Club are looking towards the Kiama Sevens, which will be held on Saturday, February 23.

This year’s event promises to be one of the biggest yet.