NOBODY could have doubted the quality of rugby on display in the latter stages of the Melrose Sevens at the weekend. It was fast and physical as players gave their all to get their hands on the 1883 Centenary Trophy.

But there was also a gap. By the time the tournament got to its business end, there was little Scottish involvement.

Which is not to say there was none. Each of the finalists had a pair of Scots in their line-up and the Samurai, who went in as favourites but came up short to an inspired Monaco Impis team, had Scottish coaches in Fraser Harkness, the former Selkirk full- back, and Bruce Aitchison, who played at Gala and has coached all over Scotland.

It did not matter on the day, though you can guarantee that if one of the 15 local sides there at the start had managed to fight their way to the final, there would have been a lot more passion in the stands. It is one thing to admire the gladiatorial skills of the players, another to bawl out your backing for somebody you might meet walking down the street next week.

The magic is still there, however, as Mark Robertson, coach of the Melrose side – who got a peach of a draw meaning they were the only Scotland-based club side to reach the last eight – remarked after they had gone out to Argentina-based Speranza22, one of the nine guest teams in the draw.

“It’s a great occasion,” he said. “It was wonderful to see so many people here, and such a good atmosphere. The weather helped but it is a great occasion, as always. This tournament means so much to everyone.

“We were gutted to go out when we did but they were just that bit more accurate and that made all the difference. I can’t fault the effort, we pushed them close, just not close enough.

“It’s hard against these invitation teams. We had effectively four sessions ahead of this but they have been competing on the invitation circuit and just understand the game that bit better than we did.”

It was a similar story for the British Army side coached by Jo Nayacavou, probably best known as part of the Scotland side that won the World Series Sevens tournament in London six years ago and still the only Scotland international team with a victory over a full New Zealand side.

“It’s always amazing to come here, I love this place,” he said after his team, the defending champions, went out in the semi-finals. “It holds a special position in my heart, I’ve got so many good memories. I dropped in on Tuesday, just to come and have a feel for it before we started.

“It was our first outing of the season so I think the boys did well. It could have been better, but these boys have worked hard all week. They’ve been amazing.”

Which shows how much the tournament means to all

those involved and the wild celebrations among the Monaco Impis – whose multinational selection included Oliver Melville who played for Scotland Under 20s last year and scored in the final – showed how much it meant to them too.

Yet the fact remains that of 15 Scotland-based sides who entered the tournament, only Melrose made the last eight, where they were joined by London Scottish Lions, coached by Melrose favourite Bryan Redpath, the former Scotland international captain.

Neither went any further as the army and three invitation sides eased into the next round with a fair amount of comfort.

Only time will tell whether that lack of local involvement in the games that matter is sustainable.