Langholm Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by

Langholm RFC Langholm Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team founded in 1871. They play their home games at Milntown, Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway. The team currently play in the East Regional League Division Two following relegation from East Reg ...

, in

Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands. Location and geography Langholm sits nort ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The Langholm Sevens was the last of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated in 1908. Held around the end 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 world ...

competition. 2019's Langholm Sevens took place on 27 April.

Sports Day

Langholm first introduced a Sports Day - as it was originally called - on 16 October 1886; and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

seven a sides were played then. Two local teams met; from the firms of James Scott and Sons of Waverley Mills and Hotson the Builders. James Scott and Sons won the match. However it wasn't until 1908 that

decided that they should hold an annual Sports Day and thus the Sevens tournament today dates from then. Eight teams from the Borders were invited to play on 1 May 1908.

Scott Cup

The winner of the Langholm Sevens receives the Scott Cup. The Scott Cup was first presented to the winners in 1930. It was presented by Tom Scott; the first

player to be capped internationally by Scotland (in 1896), and the first Border man to be president of the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

(from 1914 to 1920).

Longest match in Sevens history

The final of the 1920 Langholm Sevens is understood to be the longest match in Sevens history.

Jed-Forest Jed-Forest Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team who are based at Riverside Park in Jedburgh. The team was founded in 1885 and currently play in Scottish Premiership and the Border League. Jed-Forest Sevens The club organises the Jed-Fore ...

played

Edinburgh Wanderers Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club, founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union, playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfie ...

in that match, which was played with two halves of ten minutes each. After 20 minutes had expired with the score at 0-0, both captains and the referee agreed to play another two halves of ten minutes, which also ended without any score. Following this, the captains and referee agreed to play under a 'golden try' rule: if either team scored a try, it would end the match, and the scoring team would win the match (and the competition). After another five minutes, Jed-Forest fly-half Willie Scott touched down for a try to finally break the deadlock. The final had lasted a total of 45 minutes.

Invited Sides

Various sides have been invited to play in the Langholm 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 less c ...

entered in a side in 1972, reaching the final. The Scotland 7s side was invited in 2000. Loughborough Colleges reached the final in 1995, losing out to

Glasgow High Kelvinside Glasgow High Kelvinside , often abbreviated to GHK, is an amateur rugby union club in Glasgow, Scotland. They currently play in Scottish National League Division One. History Glasgow High Kelvinside was formed in 1982 by the merger of Kelvins ...

. Aspatria reached the final in 1990. London Scottish reached the final in 1993. Of the English sides so far invited, only Newcastle Falcons and Headingley have won the Scott Cup.

Past winners

Sponsorship

Edinburgh Woollen Mill are longstanding sponsors of the tournament.

References

{{Rugby in the Borders Rugby union in Dumfries and Galloway Rugby sevens competitions in Scotland Rugby union in the Scottish Borders