For PE teachers running smaller squads, or warming up for a busy 7s season at home, the Lisbon Junior 7s school rugby tour offers proper international competition inside a nice three-night window. It’s a short flight, a single tournament weekend, and a city that does the heavy lifting on the days when your team isn’t playing.
The tournament has been running since 2018 and has quietly built a reputation among rugby-touring schools across the UK and Ireland.
What is the Lisbon Junior 7s rugby tournament?
Lisbon Junior 7s is an international youth rugby sevens tournament held every February in Lisbon, Portugal, with categories for boys at U14, U16 and U18, and for girls at U16 and U18. Run by Sports Ventures, the tournament draws teams from over 20 countries, including sides from across Europe and further afield in North America. Past editions have also brought together teams from very different rugby cultures, including a Ukraine national age-group side that travelled under difficult circumstances to take part.
Sports Ventures describe it as ‘likely the most international youth rugby sevens tournament in Europe,’ and that internationalism shows up in the fixtures. A school rugby team can find itself sharing a pool with opposition it would never meet at home, which is the whole reason most coaches sign their groups up.
“Perfect tour and great experience. Attention to detail was spot on. Sign us up again.” Langley School
What to expect from a Lisbon Junior 7s rugby school tour
Edwin Doran’s standard packages are three nights, with the option to extend to four or five if your group wants more time in the city. Lisbon is around a 2.5 to 3-hour flight from most UK and Ireland airports, which tends to keep both cost and travel time manageable. Edwin Doran groups travel with a dedicated rep who is with the team from arrival at the airport to departure.
“Well run from start to finish. You have a dedicated rep with you from your arrival at the airport until your departure. The event is well managed, super playing venues, and a range of accommodation available. An easy 3-night tour.” Josie Moore, Tour Coordinator, Edwin Doran Sports Tours
The tournament itself runs across two days at established Lisbon rugby club venues. Every team is guaranteed a minimum number of games per day, with lunch provided to all teams at the venue on both days of the tournament. There’s even room to extend the format with a XV match on Tuesdays if squad numbers allow.
“The event was fantastically run.” British School Al Khubairat
Is the Lisbon Junior 7s suitable for school rugby teams?
Yes, and it is particularly well suited to smaller schools and to squads warming up for the junior 7s season. The format welcomes all abilities and levels, which means a team that would struggle to fill a 15-a-side fixture list can still get meaningful international competition under their belt. The age-group structure is broad enough to take a developing U14 squad alongside a more experienced U18 side on the same trip.
Sport Ventures build safeguarding into the tournament from the ground up, with on-site medical teams at every field, clear protection and wellbeing protocols, and dedicated points of contact for each team.
What Lisbon adds to your school rugby tour
While the rugby matches are the main event, off the pitch, Lisbon earns it’s place on the itinerary. Squads can take surf lessons on the city’s Atlantic beaches, run a stadium tour, and explore the older quarters of the city between fixtures.
For most touring squads, those off-pitch days are where the trip stops being a fixture list and starts becoming a tour.
Talk to our experts
If a Lisbon Junior 7s tour sounds like a fit for your squad, our Edwin Doran touring experts can talk you through dates, hotels, and options for 2027. We can also walk you through the Lisbon Junior 7s programme if you would like to see the format in detail before you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
The standard Edwin Doran tour to the Lisbon Junior 7s is three nights, built around the two-day tournament weekend. Schools can extend the trip to four or five nights if they want more time for sightseeing or surf, and where squad numbers allow there’s the option to add a XV match on the Tuesday.
The tournament is open to boys at U14, U16, and U18, and to girls at U16 and U18. All abilities are welcome, which makes it equally suitable for development squads and more experienced age groups, and the broad age structure means a school can bring more than one squad on the same trip.
Teams travel with a dedicated Edwin Doran rep who is with them from airport arrival to airport departure, and the tournament itself has on-site medical teams at every field plus clear safeguarding protocols. Each visiting school is given a named point of contact at the event for any logistical questions across the weekend.
Rugby
Portugal