WATSONIANS and Edinburgh Accies say they are “disappointed” not to be invited to the Gala Sevens this weekend.

And both clubs are seeking clarification from the Border League on how their exclusion affects their Kings of the Sevens campaign.

The contest will take place on Saturday as part of the Maroon’d@Gala festival.

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In a statement, a Watsonians spokesperson said: “We are hugely disappointed not to be invited to compete in the Gala Sevens on Saturday for the first time in its history.

“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.

“Naturally we would hope that not having the opportunity to compete at Gala on Saturday has no bearing on our chances of competing fairly for the Kings of the Sevens title this season.

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“We’ll be seeking clarification from the Border League regarding how the decision impacts the Kings of the Sevens tournament.”

An Edinburgh Accies spokesperson said: “The club is extremely disappointed to share the news that we (along with Watsonians) have not been invited to this year’s gala Sevens due to a change in the tournament format.

“Accies last won the tournament in 2019 defeating Watsonians in the final in a reverse of the 2017 final. In a social media post gala RFC have stated that the change was caused by late withdrawals by other Teams in previous years,

“The results is that we will only be competing in nine of this season’s Kings of the 7s despite our consistent support of the competition since its inception. We hope of course that this will not affect our ability to challenge for honours as we have done in recent years.”

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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.

Gala Rugby said the club had prioritised Borders teams in a smaller format for Saturday’s event following previous issues with late withdrawals.

In a statement, a spokesperson 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 teams’ 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 K7s 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.

“We are sure everyone will have a great day nonetheless and can’t wait to welcome you all to Netherdale.”

“Tickets are available now at www.galarfc.com/maroond or by paying on the gate on the day.”