GoFibre teams up with Melrose Sevens to give Durham rugby clubs chance to take part in prestigious rugby weekend

New for this season, Durham University will take part in this year’s Melrose Sevens competition.

The opportunity to play in the iconic tournament comes as Scottish independent broadband provider GoFibre partners with Melrose Sevens to create a new grassroots tournament that will kick off the weekend on Friday 7th April 2023, with the final taking place on the Greenyards main pitch on the Saturday evening in front of a capacity crowd.

Sixteen amateur teams, including Durham University club, will compete throughout the day for a place in Saturday’s final, with the winning team set to be awarded a £1,000 prize fund courtesy of GoFibre, and a qualifying place in the 2024 rugby tournament. The local broadband provider will also be sponsoring the event’s family zone throughout the four-day weekend.

Signing a three-year deal, the partnership with Melrose Sevens is designed to support grassroots rugby and communities across Durham as GoFibre continues to roll out its full fibre network, levelling-up the capabilities of local clubs, homes, and businesses across the region.

In the coming months, full fibre broadband will be available for 4,000 homes and businesses throughout Teesdale after Borderlink, trading as GoFibre, was awarded a multi-million contract under the government’s Project Gigabit scheme.

Once in place, speeds of up to 10Gbps will be available, transforming the ability for local residents and businesses to work effectively from home, operate multiple devices simultaneously with no lag and download complete box sets in seconds.

Lining up against Durham University, the other teams announced include Berwick, Biggar, Dumfries Saints, Duns, Earlston, Langholm, North Berwick, Preston Lodge and Tynedale.

Neil Conaghan, Chief Executive Officer, GoFibre said: “Melrose Sevens is a globally recognised cultural event and we are immensely proud to partner with them to create this brand-new tournament.

“Alongside the roll-out of our transformational full fibre network, everything we do is designed to support local communities. Today’s announcement of the opportunity available for Durham University is another step on our journey towards those efforts and our commitment to improving the lives of people across the North of England and beyond.”

To find out how GoFibre is making a difference in local communities with its full fibre broadband services and to register interest, visit www.gofibre.co.uk

Tickets for the 2023 Melrose Sevens will be priced at £35 for adults and £15 for under 18’s with children under 5,free of charge. All tickets include access to the Friday rugby, which falls on the Good Friday bank holiday. For full ticket information, visit melrose7s.co.uk/tickets/