Scotland’s sevens side returns to action this weekend when the Scottish Thistles take to the Greenyards for the Melrose Sevens, with Fin Callaghan named to lead a young squad into one of the sport’s most familiar settings. The first test comes at 10.30am against Musselburgh, and the winner will move on to face Peebles.
The trip back to Melrose matters because Scottish Rugby reformed Scotland Sevens last year, giving the programme a fresh start under Ciaran Beattie and a base at Oriam in Edinburgh. Beattie said it has been “brilliant” to have the programme back this year and said it will be special to play at Melrose representing the thistle, while also saying the team hopes the event can become a regular part of the calendar to help player development.
There is also a personal edge to this weekend for Beattie, who lives in Melrose and has never managed to lift the Melrose Sevens trophy. He said he “daydreams about it all the time” and walked past the Greenyards with his son on Sunday morning, both getting excited for a day his family will spend there in Scotland shirts. That sense of place fits the tournament itself: the Melrose Sevens is historic, played at the Greenyards where the game was born.
The squad selected for the weekend blends experience and new faces. Freddie Owsley, who has represented Edinburgh and Scotland Sevens before, is included, along with Stevie Hamilton of Peebles. Lewis Wells, Sam Leweni and Isaac Coates were chosen from the Edinburgh Rugby Academy, while Wells brings four appearances for Edinburgh and has already trained with the Scotland national team. Brent Jackson, a Scottish-qualified scrum-half who joined Glasgow’s Academy ahead of the 2024/2025 season from the Hollywoodbets Sharks U21s, also makes the trip. Mitchell Newell, who was in the Scotland U20 squad for this year’s Six Nations, is part of the group too, as are Glasgow National Talent Pathway players Gregor Johnston and Murray Waugh. Ritchie Mitchell will also take to the field alongside Leo Munro, who has trained with Scotland Sevens and finishes school in the coming months at Stewart’s Melville College.
The women’s side will also be in action, with Edinburgh Rugby head coach Claire Cruikshank leading the Scottish Thistles team in the Women’s Sevens tournament. For Scotland’s wider sevens set-up, the timing comes with Great Britain Sevens focused on the final two rounds of the World Championships in Valladolid and Bordeaux, leaving this weekend to the domestic programme and a chance to test depth in front of a knowledgeable crowd. Scottish Thistles last won the Melrose Sevens in 2008, and this year’s return gives Beattie’s rebuilt programme a clear marker: the next step is not just to show up, but to turn a homecoming into something lasting.
