Ned Haig (7 December 1858 in

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in ...

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 ...

– 28 March 1939 in

Melrose, Scotland Melrose ( gd, Maolros, "bald moor") is a small town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders, historically in Roxburghshire. It lies within the Eildon committee area of Scottish Borders Council. History The original Melrose was ''Mailros'', me ...

, buried in Wairds Cemetery,

) was a butcher 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 it ...

player notable for founding the sport of rugby sevens. He moved to

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett R ...

when he was young. There he took up rugby (now rugby union) and joined Melrose Rugby Football Club (RFC) in 1880. In 1883 Haig suggested hosting a sports tournament to help raise money for the Melrose RFC and came up with the idea of playing with seven rather than 15 a side and reducing the match length to 15 minutes (from 80 minutes).

Early life

Haig was born in

, moving to

when young. He was employed at a butcher's shop. After participating in the traditional annual

Fastern's E'en Ba Fastern's E'en was a festival in Scotland, held on the Tuesday before Lent, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday. Valuable foods like meat, butter and fat were used up in a feast and associated celebrations before the sacrifices of Lent. Various alte ...

game, he became interested in the similar game of

, joining the local

Melrose RFC Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett ...

side in 1880, initially playing for the seconds before making the first team and also playing for South of Scotland.

Origin of rugby sevens

In 1883, with the club short of funds, Haig suggested hosting a tournament as part of a sports day to raise money. As it would not be possible to play several rugby games in one afternoon with a full squad of 15, teams for the tournament were reduced to seven men, with the match time reduced to 15 minutes. The inaugural Melrose Sports took place on 28 April 1883, and included foot races, drop-kicks, dribbling races and place kicking as well as the main attraction of the rugby tournament, which attracted eight teams. Haig played on the Melrose team, which defeated local rivals Gala in the final, receiving a cup donated by the ladies of Melrose (now known as The Ladies Cup). The immediate success of the tournament meant that other clubs in the

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

region also set up their own rugby sevens competitions. After Haig retired from competition, he continued to take an active part in the running of the club, serving for several seasons on the General and Match committee. He died in Melrose on 28 March 1939. In 2008, Haig and

were honoured for their role in the creation of rugby sevens with induction to the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

Gravestone

The following inscription can be found on Haig's gravestone in Melrose:

Edward 'Ned' Haig Born Jedburgh 7th December, 1858 Died Melrose 29th March 1939 Erected by the Border Rugby Clubs in memory of the originator of seven-a-side Rugby.Jones, p123

Notes and references

* Jones, J.R. ''Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football'' (Robert Hale, London, 1976 )

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haig, Ned 1858 births 1939 deaths History of rugby union in Scotland History of rugby union Rugby sevens people Rugby union players from Jedburgh Scottish rugby union players South of Scotland District (rugby union) players World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees

Early life

Origin of rugby sevens

Gravestone

See also

Notes and references

External links