10/04/09, Merose Seven-a-side rugby tournament, Greenyards, Melrose, Scotland. Where the seven-a-side game was first played.
10/04/09,Merose Seven-a-side rugby tournament, Greenyards, Melrose, Scotland. Action during one of the ties during the 2009 tournament. A Brief History of Seven a Side Rugby. How and when did the game of Sevens start and "The Sports" become the climax of the Melrose Rugby season? Tradition has it, for there are no authoritative documents of the period extant today, that in 1883 Melrose Football Club was casting around for ideas to help the Club's finances when the suggestion of a football tournament was put forward by the now legendary 'NED' HAIG. Ned Haig was born in Jedburgh on 7th December, 1858, and came to Melrose as a youth. At first he was not particularly attracted to the game of Rugby but after participation in Fastern's E'en Ba he developed an interest and taste for the sport. Haig first played for the Club in 1880 in the second team with an occasional sortie in the Firsts, the first of these being against Earlston at the Annual Hiring Fair there. One year later he was a regular member of the First team and also made appearances for the South. When Haig's playing days came to an end he continued to take an active part in The Club and served for several seasons on the General and Match Committee. Whilst best remembered as the innovator of the Sevens as well as for his other Rugby activities he also participated in other sports among which were Cricket, Curling and Golf. Ned Haig had a long life and died on 28th March, 1939, just shortly before the by now popular Melrose Sports at The Greenyards; the very event that he was instrumental in initiating. In an article "An old Melrose Player's Recollections", written most probably in 1907/1908, Haig says: 'Want of money made us rack our brains as to what was to be done to keep the Club from going to the wall, and the idea struck me that a football tournament might prove attractive but as it was hopeless to think of having several games in one afternoon with fifteen players on each side, the teams were
Size: 4164px × 2710px
Location: The Greenyards, Melrose, Scottish Borders, Scotland UK.
Photo credit: © Ian Rutherford / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: borders, britain, club, eildon, europe, football, gb, great, greenyards, hills, kingdom, melrose, rfc, roxburghshire, rugby, scotland, scottish, sevens, uk, union, united
