Melrose Sevens 125 Rugby
The Melrose Rugby Football Club in Scotland is one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in the world. It was first established in the year 1877 and in 1880 it received full membership to the Scottish Rugby Union. What has made the club and the town of Melrose so well known is the fact that it is the birthplace of the Melrose Sevens rugby tournament and a form of rugby that is internationally recognized and enjoyed by both players and spectators.
Ned Haig, a local butcher living in Melrose at the time, invented the seven players on a side rugby game, leading to the Melrose Rugby Football Club hosting the first Melrose Sevens tournament in 1883. Melrose has been home the game ever since, celebrating their 125th year of the tournament with the special Melrose Sevens 125. Teams from all over the world are invited to compete and the Melrose Sevens 125 final match will take place on 12 April 2008. The whole of Scotland, and especially Melrose, will be rushing to secure their tickets for the matches and other events hosted during this Kings of the Sevens league tournament.
While Melrose takes on a life of its own, with vibrancy, excitement and anticipation for the coming tournament, teams such as the University of Free State (South Africa), Manly (Australia), Bay of Plenty (New Zealand) and all the other teams from Portugal, England, Ireland, Italy, France and China, will be gearing up for a few days of serious rugby. Winners for the last ten years have been Melrose in 1997 and 1998, Gala in 1999, Nawaka in 2000, Barbarians in 2001, Boroughmuir in 2002, Sale Sharks in 2003, Stellenbosch University in 2004 and 2005, Newcastle Falcons in 2006 and the reigning champions being the University of the Orange Free State, also known as the Shimlas, from South Africa.
Twenty four teams will compete in this historic event and many spectators will be coming to support the Melrose Sevens 125, in the hopes of seeing some of the best known players in the world, such as Serge Blanco, Gavin Hastings, Will Carling, Percy Montgomery, Andy Irvine, Tony O’Reilly, Keith Robinson and David Campese.
Other magnificent events that will take place over this period are the Melrose 125 Greenyards Village, the Melrose 125 Vets Tournament, the Melrose 125 Ladies Tournament and the Melrose 125 Youth Tournament. The Melrose Sevens 125 is guaranteed to be a rugby extravaganza like no other that will thrill, entertain and raise spectators to their feet. It will be rugby at its best.
