Tomorrow thousands of rugby supporters will flock to The Greenyards in the Borders to watch the latest instalment of the world famous Melrose Sevens - and it will mark the 25th anniversary of the year one of the sport's greatest showmen lit up the event.

In 1990 Randwick of Australia were invited as one of the guest sides and as soon as they accepted there was just one name on the lips of everyone: David Campese.

At that time the Australian wing wizard was at the peak of his powers and since he had made his full international XVs debut in 1982 against New Zealand he had wowed crowds with his pace, skill and cheekiness.

He did things with the ball that others simply could not and as well as being a star in the XV-a-side game he was helping to change the face of sevens rugby.

Since 1983 he had been involved on numerous occasions at the Hong Kong Sevens with Australia and indeed, such was his prowess in the abbreviated game, just a few weeks ago he was named in the 'Hong Kong Magnificent Seven' alongside the likes of Jonah Lomu and Waisale Serevi.

So, you can imagine the excitement that was building in Melrose 25 years ago when Campese arrived in the town. The Sydney outfit were aiming to become the first ever Southern Hemisphere winners of the tournament which began in 1883. And they started the day well, progressing to the semi-finals before coming up against a stubborn host side.

Indeed, with a large crowd cheering them on, it looked as if Melrose were going to progress to the final until that man Campese, then aged 27, took matters into his own hands. He showed great pace and managed to hurdle a couple of tackles and squeeze in at the corner to see Randwick edge through 16-15.

They then had to much for Kelso - a side who had dominated the event in the 1980s winning six times - in the final, coming through 26-8.

Throughout the day other players such as Gavin Boneham, the principal ball winner from lineouts and restarts, Mark Ella, Acrua Niuqila and captain/coach John Maxwell impressed for Randwick, but no one more so than Campese who scored 46 points overall.

Looking back on the day this week Campese - who went on to be named World Rugby player of the year in 1992 and won 101 Australian caps - said: "It was a great period for me. The Melrose Sevens is very famous and it was a great tournament for Randwick. To win the trophy was a special achievement for both myself and the club given the history that goes along with Melrose.

"I remember being excited to head over because we did not get a lot of chance to play sevens back home and I knew that I would be able to meet up with the great Bill McLaren which was special. I remember our semi-final was a very tight match and we did not have a lot of time between that and the final, so to go on and play so well in the last match was good as it had been bloody hard work all day.

"My main memories of playing sevens over the years all centre around a lot of fun. You got the chance to show off your skills, beat a man one on one and to try lots of different things out in a bid to break a defence down. You knew when you passed the ball over your head someone would be there, whether from your team or the opposition, and it always made for an exciting spectacle."