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Sevens maestro Waisale Serevi is set to take part in his final competitive tournament at ‘The Greenyards’ as part of the 2009 Melrose Sevens this weekend. Melrose club officials initially approached the Fijian legend at the 2008 Roma Sevens, where he was playing for 7 Kings of Rome, where he stated his keenness to compete.

He stated that playing at the birthplace of the game was the last piece of his rugby sevens jigsaw, and has confirmed he will take part in the tournament playing for a Leeds Metropolitan University side where he has recently been awarded an honorary sports doctorate and regularly takes an active role in their coaching structure, as well as scouting duties. Leeds Metropolitan have strong links with both Leeds Carnegie and their rugby league counterparts the Leeds Rhinos.

Melrose is the birthplace of sevens with the first tournament of its kind taking place 1883 organised by the Scottish Borders town butcher Ned Haig. Haig’s amazing contribution to the game saw him inducted into the IRB’s Hall of Fame - recognising special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union.

This year will mark the 126th playing of the Melrose Sevens and it is proposed to continue an extended tournament with guest teams coming from near and far. Previous years have included an abundance of strong overseas sevens guests with the likes Randwick and Manly from Australia, Bay of Plenty from New Zealand, Stellenbosch from South Africa all making an impression. University of Free State in South Africa made were perhaps the strongest overseas side to have graced Greenyards in recent times, winning the 2007 tournament defeating a talented Newcastle Falcons in the final, which included the current England captain Ollie Phillips in their ranks.

Scottish order was restored last year however when the Thistles comprehensively defeated the Leicester Tigers 33-12 to take the spoils. This year the major domestic threats are expected from the likes of Glasgow Hawks, Boroughmuir and Stirling County, whilst the exclusively invited overseas team is the University of Johannesburg.

The town of Melrose takes on a carnival atmosphere during the tournament with the day being considered a main social date in the sporting calendar. To complement the main Melrose 7s tournament other attractions are being planned for the international sports event.

Thursday night (9th) sees evening entertainment including Big Borders Rugby Quiz in Entertainment Marquee Gibson Park, whilst Good Friday (10th) sees a Vets Tournament with entertainment in the evening by the Bavarian Strollers. The action gets under way on Saturday (11th) with the finals set to finish around 7pm, with more entertainment to follow.