Best rugby sevens

UP for sevens

MELROSE:

I have to start at the birthplace of the abbreviated game. It was 1978, my home club Kelso had never won the Melrose Sevens, we had a team with an average age of just over 20, were fit as butchers' dogs and I was still at school. We accounted for Boroughmuir, Glasgow Accies and Richmond on the way to the final, the highlight for me bringing down the late, great Bruce Hay. We defeated Stew Mel in a very tense final, at last bringing the cup back to Kelso – the scenes of unadulterated joy will live long in the memory.

ISLE OF MULL:

Rutherford's best pal, loveable eccentric Duncan Swinbanks, is the driving force behind Isle of Mull RFC. John got a bunch of ex-internationalists (Beattie, Laidlaw, Calder, etc) and we set off to take on the might of the Western Isles. Clearing the pitch of sheep was all part of the fun and I'm not sure malt whisky between ties is ideal but we had a magnificent weekend.

HONG KONG:

I did this trip nine times, the first as an 18-year-old. As the junior player I was instructed by captain, Andy Irvine, to look after the mascot, a monkey called McGregor. The instructions were simple – lose the monkey and you lose your clothes! We lost the final to Fiji on a pitch half under water due to a monsoon. To make matters worse, the monkey went missing at the post-tournament celebrations, presumed kidnapped it made the headlines in the South China Post, and I was publicly embarrassed.

TWICKENHAM:

In the 1980s this was still a huge tournament and attracted a full house. Kelso went down as the holders of the Melrose Sevens but didn't progress past the second round, mainly due to a certain very young Martin Offiah.

JEDFOREST:

One of my favourite tournaments, in one of the nicest settings in Scottish rugby. We won a number of times but the sweetest was my first when we met Hawick in the final. At the end of normal time we were level at 16-all and into sudden death. Jim Renwick was weaving his magic for the Greens but the Kelso forwards won the ball again and we scored the decisive try.

• Roger Baird, capped 27 times, is Emirates Airlines Edinburgh Sevens event ambassador for 2008. The Sevens is at Murrayfield on Saturday, 31 May & Sunday, 1 June www.edinburgh7s.com