THE sun shone down on Walkerburn during a “special” event for the village.

The rugby club held the 100th edition of its sevens tournament on Saturday, attracting around one thousand spectators.

Edinburgh Rugby players Darcy Graham and Mark Bennett joined in the centenary celebrations alongside former Walkerburn players from the 1950s.

“It was brilliant,” said sevens convenor Keith McCudden. “It went as well as we could have wished for.

“It was a success. All the hard work, not just from me but from everyone, it all paid off.

“We were very lucky with the weather,” he added. “It rained off and on quite heavy right up until Friday night.

“Then when I went down on Sunday morning to tidy up it started raining again, but it stayed dry all day Saturday. The weather gods were with us.”

The village looked set to miss out on the milestone moment when the rugby club announced its closure and the subsequent cancellation of the event back in April.

Mass public support saw a U-turn to ensure the 100th sevens took place.

The long-term future of the club will now be discussed at an AGM, with Mr McCudden stating that he had seen no sign of it closing.

“Everyone was happy that it went ahead,” said Mr McCudden, who played for Walkerburn for around 20 years. “I hope it’s not going to be the last one but we just don’t know yet.

“We’ve not had the discussions yet about what comes next. Everyone enjoyed it for what it was.

“I’m still quite emotional about the whole thing. When you jump on board you don’t realise how much the club means to folk until backs are against the walls.”

Spectators were offered the chance to sign a wall to commemorate the special occasion.

Mr McCudden, whose wife came up with the idea, said: “It was those little things that everyone chipped in with that made it a special day.

“Me and my brother were the first ones on the gate and I just got as many people as possible to sign the wall as they came in, just telling them that they were a part of history.

“We’re just totally grateful that we managed to get the sevens done.

“The sevens is a big thing for Walkerburn as a village, not just the rugby club. It’s massive.”