Seven-a-side rugby is invented in the Scottish Borders.

A butcher from Melrose invented the modern sevens format; his fundraising fixture in 1883 changed rugby forever.
Ned Haig, a butcher from Melrose, devised a shortened form of rugby as a fundraiser for his local club. The first Melrose Sevens tournament took place on 28 April 1883 at The Greenyards, with seven players per side and seven-minute halves. Melrose themselves won the inaugural occasion, and the format spread rapidly through the Scottish Borders and beyond.













