Rugby players in the UK Premiership have four opportunities to win a championships trophy, and this coming weekend in opportunity No. 1.

Teams can win the Gallagher Premiership, the newly-minted Premiership Rugby Cup, and either the European Champions Cup or European Challenge Cup, but this Saturday and Sunday it’s the Premiership 7s, an event that often unveils a star in the making.

Watch the Premiership 7s LIVE on FloRugby

July 27-28

“The way it works for us we are using it as an opportunity to use our younger players and guys who haven’t had a lot of game time and see how they do in a Leicester Tigers shirt,” Leicester Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy said. 

Murphy, who has been coaching the Tigers 15s team, is back coaching the sevens team as well, and he remembers how the Premiership 7s has opened his eyes to talent in past years.

“We were very lucky a few seasons ago when we had Blaine Scully come in for a trial,” said Murphy, referring to the current USA men’s national team captain. 

“He’d obviously played a bit of rugby in the States and we saw an opportunity for him to play in the sevens competition and he showed his talent and what has to offer. We signed him to a contract after that.”

That is an excellent example of how the Premiership 7s can turn an unknown into a major pro, or an international. 

“Blaine was here for a couple of years and was very successful and he’s gone from strength to strength and is playing very well at Cardiff,” Murphy said. “Every time the guys have an opportunity to put on the shirt, they can really turn the coaches’ heads and lay down a marker.”

We saw fireworks when @Harlequins headed to Franklin's Gardens for the #PremRugby7s last season ??

Checkout their best moments from a year ago where a certain @02msmith was a star of the show ? pic.twitter.com/fSFYrUtkWN

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) July 17, 2018

Not all of the players look like they compete in sevens full-time. Hayes describes his loose forwards as “a bit meaty.” But, they build their fitness playing in this tournament, and they learn about the atmosphere of a professional tournament.

“It’s a lot of fun and it’s great to see these guys go toe-to-toe with the big dogs,” Murphy said. “Most rugby purists really enjoy it because it’s a stripped-back part of the game.”

And it remains an excellent place to see the top players of tomorrow.

“Forty-three players over the past nine years have gone on to get full international honors,” said Premiership Rugby’s Dominic Hayes. “So, effectively, five of the players you’ll see at Franklin’s Gardens will go on to play for their country, and people don’t really realize how important this is to the pathway.”

Last year’s tournament saw Harlequins show well, and a young player exploded onto the scene—Marcus Smith. This was the first time he donned a Quins shirt and the 18-year-old became the second-youngest player to play in the Premiership (George Ford is the youngest ever). By the end of the 15s season, the Philippines-born Smith was the Harlequins starting flyhalf, has scored over 200 points for his club and was in the England player pool.

Who will it be this year? Watch this weekend.