The Melrose Sevens returns in a new calendar slot this weekend with hopes high of a home triumph. The draw has been reshaped to help the Borders clubs after organisers acknowledged that the strength of the guest teams in recent years had become overpowering. All seven Borders sides, along with Watsonians, have been given first-round byes in a reversal of the event’s customary running order, increasing the chances of a local winner. Watsonians, in 2018, were the last Scottish club side to win the Melrose Sevens and you have to go back to 2011 for the last time the hosts lifted the coveted 1883 Centenary Cup. There is also a new broadcaster this year, with the BBC no longer showing the tournament. Traditionally held on the second Saturday in April, the tournament has been moved to Saturday, May 24. Organisers were concerned the April date would clash with Premiership fixtures and took the decision to push the Melrose Sevens back to this May bank holiday weekend. The men’s tournament features 24 teams and retains its traditional knockout format with the first tie - between London Scottish and Edinburgh Accies - kicking off at 11am. There are four teams taking part in the women’s tournament which will be played on a round robin basis. It begins at 1.25pm, with Loughborough University taking on Shogun Rugby which is followed by Harlequins v Hearts+Balls MB. The men’s final will take place at 7.45pm, with the women’s final at 7.20pm. Borders clubs Melrose, Hawick, Kelso, Selkirk, Peebles, Jed-Forest and Gala all enter the men’s tournament at the second-round stage, along with Watsonians, in an attempt to level the playing field. “We have responded to concerns about semi-pro or specialised sevens guest teams being too powerful with a focus on inviting recognised club strength teams, with the ambition that the Scottish rugby public will continue to enjoy the highest standard of sevens at Melrose, the birthplace of the sevens game,” said Phil Morris, the tournament director. The second round is scheduled to start at 2pm with Melrose taking on the winners of the London Scottish v Edinburgh Accies tie. If you can’t make it to the Greenyards, the latter stages of the tournament will be shown live on TV and there is a new broadcaster on board. Premier Sports are showing the Melrose Sevens for the first time and will begin their live coverage at 5.30pm, immediately after the Champions Cup final between Northampton Saints and Bordeaux-Begles. The men’s quarter-finals through to the final, as well as the concluding stages of the women’s competition, will be shown live on Premier Sports 1. The earlier action will be available to watch live on the Melrose Sevens YouTube channel from the first tie at 11am. While the draw is stacked in favour of the home teams this year, the guest sides should still have enough firepower to go deep at Melrose. Shogun Rugby, the invitational side that won both the men’s and women’s tournaments last season, are back to defend both titles. Shogun men will be captained by Ross McKnight fresh from his recent stint with Edinburgh Rugby which saw him score a hat-trick in a friendly against Saracens at Hive Stadium. Former Glasgow Warriors favourite Niko Matawalu is in the Breadalbane Storm squad and Monaco Impi’s have Scotland Sevens international Freddie Owlsey, who will play for Chinnor in the English Championship next season. There is also a talented Edinburgh Rugby Academy team taking part which includes Liam McConnell, Tom Currie, Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Euan McVie and Lewis Wells and they could well be dark horses.