Gala Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by

Gala RFC Gala Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. Founded in 1875, it plays its home games at Netherdale. The team currently competes in Scottish National League Division One, the second tier of Scottish ...

, in

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The Gala Sevens was the second of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated in 1884, just behind the

Melrose Sevens Melrose Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Melrose Rugby Club, at The Greenyards in Melrose, Scotland. It is the oldest rugby sevens competition in the world, dating back to 1883 when the tournament was suggested by former Melrose ...

in 1883. Held around the start of every April, the tournament is part of the

Kings of the Sevens The Borders Sevens Circuit is a series of rugby sevens tournaments held annually in the Scottish Borders. Originally the circuit consisted of 5 tournaments; Langholm Sevens being the last added in 1908. It is the oldest Sevens circuit in the worl ...

competition. 2019's Gala Sevens took place on the 6 April. It was won by Edinburgh Academicals.

Sports Day

Gala introduced a Sports Day in 1884. This contained rugby sevens, a kicking competition and athletics.

Memorial Football trophy

The winner of the Gala Sevens receives the Border Memorial Football Trophy.

Invited Sides

Various sides have been invited to play in the Gala Sevens tournament throughout the years. The

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

entered in a side in 1976, as did Harlequins.

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

reached the final in 1999;

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pember ...

reached the final in 1970;

Bridgend RFC Bridgend Ravens ( cy, Cigfrain Pen-y-bont) (formerly Bridgend RFC) are a semi-professional rugby union club based in Bridgend, South Wales. They currently play in the Welsh Premier Division and are a feeder club to the Ospreys regional team ...

reached the final in 1971. The

Fiji national rugby sevens team The Fiji National Rugby Sevens Team has competed in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Olympics. Fiji won the gold medal in the inaugural rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Br ...

won the event in 1991. They beat the

Canada national rugby sevens team The Canada men’s national rugby sevens team competes at several international tournaments — the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Pan American Games and the Commonwealth Games. History Honours * 2011 Pan American Games Go ...

in the final. Cardiff RFC won the event in 1964 and were runners-up the following year. Of the English sides so far invited, only

Tynedale __NOTOC__ Tynedale is an area and former local government district in south-west Northumberland, England. The district had a resident population of 58,808 according to the 2001 Census. Its main towns were Hexham, Haltwhistle and Prudhoe. Th ...

, Blackheath, Loughborough Colleges, Orrell and Richmond have won the Memorial Football Trophy.

Sponsorship

The Sevens tournament is usually sponsored by Five Star Taxis of Galashiels.

Past winners

References