Magnificent men who are flying machines

in which the short game abounds. There are still flying machines in the

Scottish game with that capacity for bringing a crowd to its feet in the

same way as those outstanding quickies from other airts who, at one time

or another, have graced the Scottish sevens circuit.

Certainly there have been players who could come off their blocks at

such a lick as to require only the ball and minimum space to fashion

certain tries. Perhaps the most lethal sevens sprinter was that human

English rocket Keith Fielding, who scored 11 tries in four ties when

Loughborough Colleges won at Melrose in 1968 and achieved the same

scoring feat when they won Middlesex sevens in 1970, the runners-up then

being Edinburgh Wanderers.

An even older generation might opt for Brian Bobbyer, blindingly quick

in Rosslyn Park's historic Melrose win in 1951. Loughborough also had

Ron Sleigh, Gerald Davies and later Clive Rees. Glasgow folk may recall

how Rees lay doggo for three ties at the Glasgow Academicals Easter

tournament in 1973 then had folk gasping at his acceleration for three

marvellous tries in Loughborough's 38-18 defeat of a very useful

Kilmarnock-Ayrshire in the final.

In their halcyon days of the sixties London Scottish had Ronnie

Thomson and Iain Laughland, the latter setting tactical acumen alongside

an ability to sizzle from a standing start. Cardiff had Maurice

Richards, Bridgend the Welsh international sprinter, J J Williams and

perhaps the most lasting impression was by Barrie Fishwick of Orrell who

could come off either foot in twinkling elusiveness prior to stretching

away into his long runs for home. When Orrell won the Gala tournament in

1975 Fishwick ran in nine of their 16 tries.

All of those artistes had command of cruising speed but also that

imperceptible change of gear to ease themselves clear. They found full

expression in the open spaces of sevens and in so doing gave infinite

pleasure to those who appreciate class. They also aroused intense local

partisanship in those who have revelled when a foreign flyer has been

unceremoniously dumped by one of local vintage.

Scots, after all, have played their part in providing that razor edge

of speed that so intrigues spectators. Gala have had quick lads in Ken

Brydon, Drew Gill and now Mark Moncrieff whose running received such

deserved applause at Riverside Park on Saturday. Two of his four tries

set Gala on the road to recovery against Stewart's Melville FP and the

other two brought them back to 10-10 in the best tie of the tournament

against Selkirk.

George Turnbull who, in 1975, captained Jed-Forest to their first win

at their own tournament for 53 years, was another with the ability to

streak into space when seemingly cornered as indeed were Royal High's

Arthur Orr, Alister Weir of Watsonians, Jim Craig of Heriot's FP and

Andy Blackwood.

When Stewart's Melville FP won the Middlesex event in 1984 Blackwood

had another speedster outside him in John Mackenzie, and when Douglas

Morgan dislocated his elbow in the first round at Melrose in 1979,

Blackwood took over at scrum half and scored seven tries as the College

won for the first time after having been in four of the previous six

Melrose finals. Remember, too, how the speed of the long-striding Bill

Gammell (nine tries) was such a potent factor when Heriot's FP won

Melrose in 1982 by inflicting in the final the heaviest defeat Kelso

have suffered in modern times -- 16-40.

The current crop give much pleasure too. There are the smooth Rolls

Royces such as Derek Stark (Ayr), Roger Baird (Kelso), Keith Johnston

(Selkirk), and John Paxton (Hawick), all fairly tall and who seemingly

float rather than run, one running swerve and 80 metres stretch away by

Baird for a try against Glasgow High/Kelvinside on Saturday being a joy

to watch for its rhythm and balance. There are the pitter-patter

merchants such as Douglas Robeson (Kelso), Moncrieff, Iwan Tukalo

(Selkirk), Jed-Forest's Paul Douglas and Gregor McKechnie and now a 20

year old making his mark, Scott Nichol, arguably the most influential

member of Selkirk's winning seven on Saturday.

And, of course, there are the big forwards who can pick up their feet.

One of the greats of the past was David Sellar of Kirkcaldy who played

in the winning Loughborough Colleges seven at Melrose in 1969 and at

Twickenham in 1970, then won a 1973 Melrose medal with Edinburgh

Wanderers. His present day counterpart could be Hawick's Brian Renwick

who, apart from being impressive going forward and backwards in recent

tournaments, provided the perfect demonstration at Riverside Park of how

to neutralise an opponent's superior pace and elusiveness. In a superb

example of shepherding, he ensured that Tukalo would not beat him on the

inside then timed his assault to perfection to put his man on the floor.

One of those rare occasions when the flyer was flattened.