SEVENS RUGBY: WHAT IS IT?

It’s rugby with only seven players on each team, playing for seven minutes each half. With so few players on the pitch, every game is guaranteed to be played at a fast and furious pace, with brilliant running rugby and loads of tries. Scotland’s flying 7s specialist Andrew Turnbull scored his 100th World Series try at the recent Dubai 7s tournament…!

SEVENS RUGBY: INVENTED IN SCOTLAND!

• Game first played in Melrose in 1883
• Murrayfield hosted first ever International Sevens Tournament, in 1973
• First ever Rugby World Cup 7s Tournament played at Murrayfield, in 1993
• Rugby World Cup 7s play for The Melrose Cup

The small-sided game has its origins in Scotland, thanks to Ned (Edward) Haig, born in the Border town of Jedburgh on 7 December 1858. He moved to nearby Melrose as a youth, where he trained as a butcher. After playing in the town’s annual Fastern's E'en Ba he became interested in the similar game of rugby and joined the local Melrose RFC side in 1880.
 
In 1883 the Melrose Club was suffering a shortage of cash so Ned suggested putting on a tournament as part of a fund raising sports day. There wasn’t enough time to play several rugby games in one afternoon with a full XV, so teams were pared down to seven men, with match times reduced to 15 minutes.
 
On 28 April 1883, a cold and wet day, the first Melrose Sports kicked off at 12.30 at the Greenyards. The event included foot races, drop-kicks, dribbling races and place kicking as well as the main draw of the rugby tournament – the ‘Football Game’ – which attracted eight teams and around 1600 spectators.
 
As play progressed Melrose – for whom Ned Haig was playing – and Gala were left to decide the result of the final. They played for fifteen minutes, a fast and bruising encounter, but with no score the captains agreed to play another quarter of an hour. After ten minutes, Melrose scored a try and left the field without either going for the goal or finishing the game – but claiming the cup. The ladies of Melrose had raised the money for the small but very stylish silver Ladies Cup which was to be presented to the ‘best seven men’ on the day. Dave Sanderson, Ned Haig’s employer and team mate, accepted the trophy on behalf of the side and it was never competed for again – it’s now on display in the Ned Haig lounge at Melrose RFC.
 
After the First World War, the game expanded locally and nationally. The Selkirk Sports began in 1919, Kelso in 1920 and Earlston and Peebles in 1923. In 1920 the Royal High School ran a tournament in the Scottish Rugby Union's field in Edinburgh to aid a War Memorial Fund. This encouraged Edinburgh Institution in 1921 and Kelvinside Academicals in 1922 to stage tournaments, too. The Edinburgh Borderers began their tournament at Granton in 1922 then, on 21 February 1923, several Edinburgh Clubs decided to stage a tournament on 7 April in aid of an Edinburgh Charity – kicking off the Infirmary Sevens.
 
The first international rugby sevens tournament was held at Murrayfield in 1973 to celebrate the centenary of the Scottish Rugby Union. 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 first-time winners.

The IRB launched its inaugural World Sevens Series in season 1999/2000 and from 2006/07 Murrayfield hosted the last event of the series. Now Glasgow takes over the Scottish leg and hosts the world’s best sevens players, ensuring the game continues to be played in the country where it was born.