The Borders Sevens Circuit is a series of rugby sevens tournaments held annually in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. Originally the circuit consisted of 5 tournaments; Langholm Sevens being the last added in 1908. It is the oldest Sevens circuit in the world; the first Sevens tournament outside Scotland - bar two single Sevens matches in Chorley, England in 1888 and 1889 - was held in the Scottish expatriate city of Dunedin in New Zealand in 1889 and there was no other Sevens tournament clusters elsewhere.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 The main circuit has now grown to 11 tournaments; 10 in Scotland and 1 - the

Berwick Sevens Berwick Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Berwick RFC, in Berwick upon Tweed, England. The Berwick Sevens was the last of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated, in 1983; but the first in England. The main Borders Sevens to ...

- in England. The circuit has now extended into a league known as Kings of the Sevens. Of the extended circuit only the Walkerburn Sevens is not included in this league. The Kings of the Sevens championship is run by the

Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901. Currently known as the Booker Border League, after its sponsors, teams from all over the Scottish Borders as well as Berwick RFC from Nor ...

History

The original Borders Sevens Circuit consisted of the Melrose Sevens (founded 1883), Gala Sevens (1884), Hawick Sevens (1886),

Jed-Forest Sevens Jed-Forest Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Jed-Forest RFC, in Jedburgh, Scotland. The Jed-Forest Sevens was the fourth of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated, in 1894, after the Melrose Sevens (1883), Gala Sevens (1884) ...

(1894) and Langholm Sevens (1908). This was known as the Spring Circuit.

Walkerburn Sevens Walkerburn Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Walkerburn RFC, in Walkerburn, Scotland. The Walkerburn Sevens was the sixth of the Border Sevens tournaments to be instated, in 1911, after the bigger events of the Border Sevens sprin ...

started in 1911. It is traditionally the last tournament of the Sevens season and is instead treated as a finale. Other Sevens tournaments were added to the calendar after the First World War:-

Selkirk Sevens Selkirk Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Selkirk RFC, in Selkirk, Scotland. This was one of a group of Sevens tournaments instated after the First World War extending the original Borders Spring Circuit. The Selkirk Sevens began ...

(1919);

Kelso Sevens Kelso Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Kelso RFC, in Kelso, Scotland. This was one of a group of Sevens tournaments instated after the First World War extending the original Borders Spring Circuit. The Kelso Sevens began in 1920. ...

(1920),

Peebles Sevens Peebles Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Peebles RFC, in Peebles, Scotland. This was one of a group of Sevens tournaments instated after the First World War extending the original Borders Spring Circuit. The Peebles Sevens began i ...

(1923) and

Earlston Sevens Earlston Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Earlston RFC, in Earlston, Scotland. This was one of a group of Sevens tournaments instated after the First World War extending the original Borders Spring Circuit. The Earlston Sevens beg ...

(1923). These were originally pre-season tournaments. The last tournament added to the Borders Sevens Circuit was the

in 1983.

Schedule

Traditional Sevens schedule was changed by 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 ...

in order to allow more time for the regular rugby season. Controversially, due to the influence of former national coach

Jim Telfer James Telfer (born 17 March 1940) is a Scottish former rugby union coach and player. As a player, he won 21 international caps in the amateur era, also having a career as a headmaster at Hawick High School and Galashiels Academy and Forrester H ...

, Melrose RFC did not have to change its date. As of 2011, Sevens will take place on consecutive weekends in April and May. The schedule is due to change again for season 2019–20.

Invited sides

Each of the Sevens tournaments has a history of invited sides. Melrose Sevens - the World's most prestigious Sevens tournament - as it was the birthplace of the sport - notably has the most; attracting teams globally. The likes of the

French Barbarians The Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians, is a rugby union team formed in 1979 and based in France. It was founded as an amateur invitational team modeled on the Barbarian F.C. From the start of the 2017–18 season, ...

(1983); Ireland Wolfhounds (1991); Bay of Plenty (1992); Manly (1995); Hamilton RFC, Sea Point (2010) and

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

(2012, 2013) have all won the event. Outwith the Melrose tournament the likes of London Welsh won Hawick Sevens in 1969; London Scottish won the

in 1991; Newcastle Falcons won Langholm Sevens between 2005 and 2008; 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 ...

and Harlequins entered the Gala Sevens in 1976; and Northampton Saints have won the

in 1991 and 1993.

International 7s sides

International 7s sides often take part amongst the club sides. Fiji 7s beat Canada 7s in the 1991 Gala Sevens final. Scotland 7s won the final of the

in 1996 beating Kenya 7s; and Scotland 7s won the

in 1996 beating the Wales 7s side in the final. Germany 7s reached the final of the Melrose Sevens in 2015, losing out to

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

. The Belgium 7s reached the quarter-finals of the Melrose Sevens in 2022, losing out to the hosts.

Main circuit

The new circuit has thus been extended from the original 5 tournaments in Spring. The Borders Sevens circuit now contains 11 tournaments:- *

* Gala Sevens * Melrose Sevens * Hawick Sevens *

* Langholm Sevens *

Other Sevens tournaments in the Borders

Other Sevens tournaments in the Borders are:- *

Hawick Linden Sevens Hawick Linden Sevens is an annual rugby sevens event held by Hawick Linden RFC, in Hawick, Scotland. The first Hawick Linden Sevens tournament was held in 2012. History The first tournament was staged on 14 April 2012. This was the same day a ...

* South of Scotland District used to run a Sevens tournament.

Kings of the Sevens

The ten most prestigious of the main circuit tournaments make up a league competition known as the ''Kings of the Sevens''. The league began in 1994 though work is ongoing to calculate previous winners based on the format. The ten tournaments used for the Kings of the Sevens league are:- *

* Gala Sevens * Melrose Sevens * Hawick Sevens *

* Langholm Sevens *

The

are instead known as the ''Prince of the Sevens'' and remain the season finale.

Format

Teams competing gain points depending on how far they progress in each tournament; the winner gains ten points, the runner up gets seven points, and semi-finalists receive five points. Teams that are eliminated at the quarter final stage gain three points. The Kings of the Sevens champions are thus the team that has performed the best across all ten tournaments.

Kings of the Sevens champions

References

{{Rugby in the Borders Rugby sevens competitions in Scotland Rugby union in the Scottish Borders