'Disappointed' Watsonians and Edinburgh Accies left out of Gala Sevens - organisers explain why
The Maroon’d@Gala Festival organisers have slimmed the main Gala Sevens draw down to eight teams from 12 with Watsonians and Edinburgh Accies, who have been regulars on the circuit in recent years, the biggest casualties. The Kings of the Sevens circuit is played over ten events with an overall winner crowned. The Peebles event took place on August 5 while eight others will take place in April and May 2024. As it stands 2009, 2017, 2018 and 2019 circuit winners Watsonians will only be able to play in nine of the 10 events, as will Accies.
A Watsonians statement said: “We are hugely disappointed not to be invited to compete in the Gala Sevens. We are very proud not to have missed a Kings of the Sevens event since its inception - as a club we invest a lot of time, resource and budget into supporting the Borders sevens circuit and will continue to do so. We’ll be seeking clarification from the Border League regarding how this decision impacts the Kings of the Sevens.”
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAccies head coach Iain Berthinussen said: “As a coaching group at Edinburgh Accies we are extremely disappointed to not be competing at the Gala Sevens.”
A statement from Gala said: “Gala Rugby has chosen to run an eight-team senior tournament this year due to previous years issues caused by late withdrawals of teams in a 12-team format “We have prioritised Borders team’s involvement and have included 2 Scots Army as they have supported the tournament in the past where teams have withdrawn in the final week. It is unfortunate that there are teams that will not be participating this year, especially some who have also been very loyal to both Gala Rugby and the wider Kings of the Sevens circuit, but ultimately when you are organising a community rugby event with over 60 rugby teams playing from P4 up to senior rugby, the organising committee need to secure certainty to ensure the smooth running of the event.”
The hosts, two Scots, Melrose, Selkirk, Jed-Forest, Peebles, Kelso and Hawick will be competing at Netherdale.