While the iRB deserves credit for creating a World Sevens Series to spread the game of Rugby around the globe, it is a 19th century Scottish butcher and his apprentice who were the real architects of what modern day fans now know as Sevens Rugby.

In 1883, a Rugby Committee met in the small Scottish town of Melrose to consider organizing an athletics meeting or Sports Day to raise funds at the end of the Rugby season.  It was at this meeting that the local butchers apprentice and Melrose 20-a-side quarterback, Ned Haig, suggested having a Rugby Tournament as part of the Sports Day Venue.

To run a Tournament for 20-a-side Teams was, however, considered unworkable and it was at this point that Ned's boss, David Sanderson, mentioned playing in a Tournament over the Border that required reduced numbers of players in each Team.

Subsequently, on the 28th of April, 1883, seven Clubs took part in the Melrose seven-a-side Tournament, with the time of each match limited to 15 minutes.  The Tournament was an instant hit with the public and about 1,600 tickets were sold on the day. Fittingly, Haig and Sanderson (Captain) were members of the Melrose Team that eventually won the competition.  The victory, though, was not without controversy.

Sanderson led the Melrose Team from the field after personally scoring the first try in extra time, while the Gala Team protested that the full period of extra time had not been played.  Gala's protests proved fruitless, with the Melrose Team steadfast in their opinion that it was their Tournament and they were, therefore, the ones that made the rules.

The popularity of Rugby Sevens has continued to grow apace since the Tournament in Melrose.  It is worth noting, though, that the idea of a Sevens Tournament is not the only legacy of the Melrose butcher and his apprentice.  Today, the World Sevens Series still follows the rule that the first Team to score in extra time is the winner of the match.

Rugby Union Sevens is sanctioned by the International Rugby Board (iRB), and is played under substantially the same rules and on a field of the same dimensions as in 15s, i.e., 15 players per side.

While a normal Rugby Union match lasts upwards of 80 minutes, a normal Rugby Sevens match lasts in the vicinity of 14 minutes (allowing for injury time and so forth).  Competition Finals last somewhat more than 20 minutes; each half in a Competition Final is 10 minutes instead of the normal 7 minutes.  This allows Rugby Tournaments to be completed in a day or a weekend.  However, Sevens scores are generally comparable to Union scores; scoring occurs with much greater regularity in Sevens, owing to the fact that the defenders are more spaced out than in Rugby Union.

The only major rule change from Rugby Union regarding events on the field is that conversions must be drop goals.

Rugby sevens developed in Scotland in 1883.  Owing to the speed by which matches are resolved and the minimal personnel requirements, Rugby Sevens has been accepted for Olympic competition (it has been in the Commonwealth Games since 1998) and it is hoped that the game spread amongst nations that are not traditional powers in Rugby Union.