Sevens Tournament
Melrose is most famous as the host of the first-ever rugby sevens tournament in 1883, the abbreviated game having been invented by Ned Haig, a local butcher. The first Melrose Sevens was won by Melrose, beating local rivals Gala in the final during extra time. The Melrose Sevens, played on the second Saturday in April every year, remains the most popular Scottish Sevens tournament, regularly attracting crowds in excess of 10,000. In honour of the role of Melrose RFC in the creation of rugby sevens, the club was inducted along with Haig to the IRB Hall of Fame in 2008. Melrose have had some recent success in their home tournament, coming runner-up on a couple of occasions and winning it in 2011. In 2010 they were crowned Kings of the Sevens winning the Kelso, Earlston, Gala and Jedforest sevens and placing respectably in the others.
Read more about this topic: Melrose RFC
Famous quotes containing the word sevens:
“See,
how they trace
across the very-marble
of this place,
bright sevens and printed fours,
elevens and careful eights....”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)