Harlequins captain Dave Ward reckons the World Club 7s will grow into a major tournament on the rugby calendar.

The reigning LV= Cup champions finished a creditable fourth in the inaugural event last weekend at Twickenham Stadium.

They defeated fellow Aviva Premiership side Gloucester 19-7 in the quarter-finals before bowing out in the semis to Auckland Rugby 31-14.

It was sweet revenge for the New Zealand-based outfit who suffered the exact score line in the pool stages.

However, Auckland were narrowly edged 17-14 by this season’s Super Rugby finalist from Australia, ACT Brumbies.

Quins were heavily beaten in the third place play-off game by Argentina’s Buenos Aires 31-7 with Henry Cheeseman getting the solitary points for the Twickenham side.

Despite the two defeats in the final day Ward was pleased with his side’s effort.

The former England U18 and U21 hooker said: “We came here to show what Harlequins rugby is all about and we did that.

“Rugby sevens I think is going to go from strength to strength in the next few years.

“We had decent crowd out here, almost as much as the national sevens event."

He added: “Playing against the likes of ACT Brumbies, Vodacom Blue Bulls and Auckland was a dream come true for a lot of us.

“The Quins fans did a fantastic job supporting us and this feels like a home tournament for us.”