In 1883, due to a shortage of clubs funds Haig suggested putting on a tournament as part of a sports day to raise money. There wasn’t enough time to play several rugby games in one afternoon with a full squad of 15, so teams for the tournament were pared down to seven men, with match times reduced to 15 minutes.

 

On 28 April 1883 the first Melrose Sports was held at the Greenyards. It included foot races, drop-kicks, dribbling races and place kicking as well as the main draw of the rugby tournament, which attracted eight teams – and around 1600 spectators. Ned Haig played for Melrose who went on to defeat local rivals Galashiels in the final, scoring a try after ten minutes of extra time.

 

A silver cup, donated by the ladies of Melrose (now known as The Ladies Cup) was presented to the winning team and, some time later, Melrose RFC gave each of the seven players – J. Simpson, D. Sanderson, N. Haig, J. Riddell, T. Riddell, G. Mercer, and J. Tacket – an engraved silver medal. John Tacket’s medal can currently be seen at Twickenham’s Rugby Museum.

 

The immediate success of the tournament meant that other clubs in the Borders region also set up their own rugby sevens competitions. Originally the ‘seven men’ comprised a full back, two quarter-backs and four forwards but, with the development of the passing game, the forwards were reduced to three and an extra half-back played.

 

1921 saw the international debut of the abbreviated game in Argentina, where the first tournament was organised in Buenos Aires. Nearer to home, in 1926, the inaugural Middlesex Sevens tournament was held at Twickenham and, in 1939, the first Rosslyn Park Sevens tournament. The National Schools Sevens in association with Rosslyn Park FC has since become the world's largest rugby tournament with around 7,000 boys and girls aged from 13 to 19 competing annually.
The first international rugby sevens tournament was held at Murrayfield in 1973 to celebrate the centenary of the Scottish Rugby Union. Due to its success, the Hong Kong Sevens was launched three years later.
Although the Melrose Sevens continues today, the 'Melrose Cup' is better known as the Rugby World Cup Sevens trophy. This tournament kicked off in April 1993, at Murrayfield, with England running out winners. Hong Kong hosted the 1997 event whose final, won by Fiji over South Africa, is still considered one of the best sevens matches of all time. Since then, the World Cup has been hosted by Argentina (2001) and Hong Kong (2005). Dubai will host the event in 2009, when a women’s tournament will run alongside the men’s event.

Sevens first featured at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, with 18 countries participating and has been part of subsequent Games in Manchester (2002) and Melbourne (2006). It will also feature in the Pan American Games in 2011.

The IRB World Sevens Series (called the IRB Sevens before the 2006-07 season) was launched in 1999. Teams compete for the Series title by accumulating points based on their finishing position in each tournament. In 2006-07, 32 unions took part in eight events culminating in a thrilling climax in Edinburgh, the first time the tournament had been held there. And this year sevens is coming home again, with the final tournament in Scotland’s capital on 29 and 30 May 2010. Make sure you don’t miss the fun and games – book your tickets now!