Melrose Sevens 2023: Monaco Impi's are surprise winners at Greenyards as tributes paid to Doddie Weir

The Melrose Sevens lived up to its billing as a landmark day of rugby when it ended as a team nobody had heard of came through to snatch at shock win after a final marked by a heartfelt tribute to Doddie Weir in the ceremonials before the match.

A general view of Melrose during the Sevens.

With the giant lock's shirt on the field and the pipe band playing Flower of Scotland before the final, there was no doubting the emotion in the crowd, but all that quickly evaporated in the heat of battle as the Samurai guest side, most people's favourites to win, came unstuck against the Monaco Impi’s.

Even David Boglashvili, the winning coach, seemed surprised by the scale of his side's achievement as they came through to win 26-12 in the last game. "We've only existed for six years,” he said. “We didn’t reach a final anywhere. So it’s the first time in my life it’s a great seven's experience. We are very happy especially regarding the level of some of the other teams.

What truly took him by surprise is that his squad culled from Scotland, England, France and Monaco, had come together only in the week leading up to this tournament and with settled sides such as the British Army in the running, he had no idea what to expect. "It's a team pulled together from an international select to help them improve,” he explained. “The players come from different backgrounds, form all over the place, and yet they gelled together into a side. It is a magic magic experience to do so much. I'm very proud about the way they have come together – more than even the result. It was difficult to create a game plan in such a short time but somehow we seemed to manage it and earned ourselves a super result.

It was heartbreak for the Samurai, who have now finished second for two seasons in a row. "We'll just have to come back next year and hope it's third time lucky," suggested Bruce Aitchison, one of the invitation side's coaches. "We knew they were going to be physical. You get into a pressure situation and see how you react and the reacted better. It was tough, you almost need bigger tests in the nearly rounds if you are going to work out how to deal with those positions. It was going well but in the final it just didn't quite happen."

The thing was that the Samurai had reached the final by beating the defending champions, the British Army, a side stocked full of Fijian talent while the Impi’s had appeared to have an easier ride to the final, making it pay when it mattered. It all crowned another bumper occasion in Melrose with tournament director Phil Morris reckoning they were back to a crowd in excess of 10,000, though the final figures had yet to be finalised. "Lovely weather and a great crowd who had a great time. It was lovely to see a great final too," Morris said. "The tribute to Doddie Weir before the final worked well, it was an opportunity for us to pay our respects and remember a great player."

In the other events of the day, Durham University came through the tournament to qualify for next year's event and the Lionseses claimed the inaugural Women's title, beating a Hearts and Balls side with a sprinkling of Scotland internationals in the final.

Melrose Sevens results

Preliminary round: Boroughmuir 12 Kelso 17; Edinburgh Accies 12 Jed-Forest 38; Gala 12 Watsonians 28; Stunts 10 Hearts & Balls 19; Peebles 14 Stirling County 35; Heriot’s 22 Hawick 7;GHA 29 Selkirk 0; Marr 21 Currie 17.

First round: Melrose 45 Kelso 0; Speranza22 17 Jed-Forest 7; London Scottish Lions 29 Watsonians 21; Monaco Impi’s 30 Hearts & Balls 0; Samurai Stirling 33 County 10; British Army 28 GHA 10; Wild Dogs Rugby 22 Marr 10.

Quarter-finals: Melrose 14 Speranza22 31; London Scottish Lions 15 Monaco Impi’s 26; Samurai 36 Lions Rugby 12; British Army 31 Wild Dogs 12.

Semi-finals: Speranza22 17 Monaco Impis 24; Samurai 26 British Army 5.

Final: Samurai 12 Monaco Impi’s 26.