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International spotlight for Melrose rugby tournament

March 3, 2022 by David Pike Leave a Comment

Exactly when and where Ned Haig experienced his ‘eureka’ moment and came up with the idea of seven-a-side rugby seems forever destined to remain lost in the mists of time.

But one thing is certain, the flash of inspiration from the Borders lad working as a butcher’s apprentice in Melrose has earned him a seat at the top table of sporting history and a special place in local folklore.

It has also bequeathed a lasting legacy, to Melrose Rugby Football Club, the town and the region, of a magnitude that no one, least of all Ned and his pals, could have dared imagine.

Six years after its inception in 1877 the club found itself somewhat strapped for cash and in desperate need of a decent idea to raise funds. Players and members “for want of money racked their brains” – and, necessity being the mother of invention, along came Ned’s brainwave for a sevens rugby tournament.

Reflecting on the first 25 years of sevens success in an article entitled ‘An old Melrose Player’s Recollections,’ written a hundred years ago, Ned explained: “The idea struck me that a (rugby) football tournament might prove attractive but as it was hopeless to think of having several games on one afternoon with 15 players on each side the teams were reduced to seven.”

Simple but absolutely brilliant. Before long sevens rugby had spread far and wide, destined to become an essential and hugely popular part of the game.

The fact that sevens rugby today is played internationally and has its own world cup – teams compete for the Melrose Cup of course – puts Ned shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Charles Alcock, William Lynn and Geo Lefrevre whose efforts gave the world the sporting classics of the FA Cup, the Grand National and the Tour de France respectively.

Every April since 1883, with enforced exceptions brought about by war (and more recently Corona virus), the flags have fluttered enthusiastically at Melrose RFC’s Greenyards ground to celebrate the original and most respected sevens tournament in the world of rugby.

Filed Under: Border Towns, Melrose, People Tagged With: Melrose, Melsrose sevens, Scottish Borders, Sevens rugby

A small town with a big history

March 1, 2022 by David Pike Leave a Comment

Every year in April the border town of Melrose becomes the focus of international attention.

The occasion is the Melrose Sevens, a rugby event devised and first played in the town in 1877. Cue TV cameras, about 16,000 visitors (that’s six times the resident population) and rugby union’s red carpet for some of the sport’s top players,

The Sevens is one of the biggest events held in the Borders and attracts followers from all over the world.

But this small town has plenty of other claims to fame and is well used to welcoming visitors from all over the world. Its enduring appeal can be measured by the number of excellent hotels and guest houses it supports.

Close by is one of the biggest Roman presences in Scotland, the supply camp of Trimontium, and wherever you go in Melrose the Abbey is sure to be not far away.

The abbey was founded in 1136 by the Cistercian monks from Rievaulx in Yorkshire. They were know as white monks because of the unbleached wool of their habits.

St Cuthbert was part of the abbey community before he moved on to the island of Lindisfarne off the Northumberland coast and eternal glory at Durham as one of the north’s best loved saints.

Melrose is the starting point of the 64-mile St Cuthbert’s Walk which criss-crosses the borders on its way to Holy Island.

The abbey is also reputedly the final resting place of Robert the Bruce’s heart, after it had been taken for use as a talisman by Scots fighting to remove the Moors from Spain.

The mason’s who helped build the abbey have been linked to the freemasons’ Lodge of Melrose – St John No 1. It houses a plaque bearing the mason’s coat-of-arms with the date 1156 and proven antiquity with a minute book dating back to 1674.

Melrose Lodge, standing in the High Street, was the last independent lodge to join the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1891.

A visit to Melrose will not disappoint.

Filed Under: Border Towns, Melrose Tagged With: Melrose, Melrose Abbey, Melrose Sevens, Scottish Borders, Trimontium

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