101st Walkerburn Sevens final one for the ages

Accompanying Kelso head coach McNeil in the winners’ squad, captained by Robbie Tweedie, were stepson Billy McNeil, Duncan Smith, Harris Ross, Max Cranston, William and John Tweedie, Ben Burton, Archie Barbour, Mackenzie Shaw and Josh Coulter.

Going up against them for Melrose’s veterans’ side were the Arnold Clark Premiership outfit’s co-head coaches, Scott Wight and Iain Chisholm, plus Graeme and Dougie Dodds, Callum Anderson, Andrew Nagle, David Crawford, Craig Greer, Tim Miskelly and Kieran Cooney, joined by first-XV players Keiran Clark and Matthew Bertram.

That was a second sevens appearance of this season for Wight, 40, following a 24-21 round-one knockout for his Auld Stars side at Earlston Sevens at the start of May.

Graeme Dodds put Melrose in front at the weekend with an uncoverted try but Kelso hit back via converted tries from Cranston and Billy McNeil to earn their first win ever at Walkerburn and also the inaugural Stevie Dickson Memorial Trophy.

This year’s sevens at the Caberston Haugh club were their 101st and they saw a comeback for Gala YM following their withdrawal from the XV-a-side Arnold Clark East Region League Division 3 at the end of last year.

The other teams competing, besides the hosts, in four pools of three were Earlston, Selkirk, Haddington, West Linton Lions, Caledonian Thebans, Penicuik, Peebles and Heriot’s, last year’s winners, and a women’s game was also played between Peebles and Thebans.

Walkerburn’s sevens, as usual, marked the end of the Borders’ latest short-sided rugby season following the conclusion of 2024/25’s Kings of the 7s campaign at Melrose last month.

Next season’s Kings of the 7s season kicks off at Peebles on Saturday, August 2, but that will be the only round of this calendar year as Gala’s tournament, held the weekend after for the last four years, is moving back to its former spring date and will take place on Saturday, April 11, next year instead.