THE old adage of 'if you want to learn something, learn it from the best' has come into play this week at the home of rugby sevens.

Close to 40 budding rugby stars from across the Borders have been taking part in the annual School of Sevens at the Greenyards.

The enterprise which was started three years ago by international players Mark Robertson and Scott Wight is proving more popular than ever.

And the duo, who recently helped Scotland defend the IRB World Series title at Twickenham, are ready to embark on fresh pastures with their coaching camps.

Former Melrose winger Mark, who helped Team GB to Olympic silver in Rio last year, said: "There is a growing appetite for rugby sevens and rugby as a whole.

"Young players find that by taking part in these summer camps it can improve their game - both at 15s and sevens.

"This is our third Borders camp and the numbers continue to grow.

"We already have camps organised for later this summer in Edinburgh and Glasgow, which are close to being full, and we are looking at taking the School of Sevens overseas. There is such a demand for rugby just now."

This week a total of 37 youngsters between the ages of 11 and 15 from all over the Borders, as well as Aberdeen and Dunbar, took part in skills sessions, team challenges and specific tailored coaching on the main Greenyards pitch.

For 32-year-old Robertson, who spent more than a decade playing professional rugby with the Border Reivers, Edinburgh Rugby and Scotland A before moving into international sevens as well as coaching at Peebles, his future lies on the touchlines.

The sports science graduate added: "I announced my retirement after we won at Twickenham - it was a good way to go out.

"We not only won the tournament for the second year but we beat the All Blacks for the very first time.

"I now have a role concentrating on coaching strength and conditioning in the Borders and East Lothian with the SRU, and I also do some corporate speaking work.

"The School of Sevens also keeps me involved in the game and I get a lot of pleasure from trying to inspire the next generation of player."

At the conclusion to this week's two-day camp at The Greenyards, British Lions star Stuart Hogg presented awards for all the students.

And a few lucky youngsters, who won individual prizes for training and games, also collected signed memorabilia from their coaches.

Although 31-year-old Wight hasn't officially announced his retirement from competitive rugby, he admits he's in rush to commit to any contract offers.

The former Glasgow Warrior, who represented Scotland at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, told us: "It looks as if my Scotland playing career is over and I haven't made any decisions about going anywhere else.

"I would have loved to have played on for Scotland Sevens and be involved in another World Series or Commonwealth Games but it's not to be.

"There have been offers from clubs but I'm not motivated at the moment to commit to anything.

"I've travelled round the world three times with rugby and I've had a blast - I'm just not sure I want to go back to playing the club game again at my age."

The former Melrose stand-off was appointed head coach of Scotland Women's Seven earlier this year.

And under Wight's guidance his team won their first qualification tournament in the Czech Republic last month.

Scott takes specialised training every Tuesday as well as weekends in Edinburgh.

And he has high hopes for his team as they head out to Hungary later this month as they aim to qualify for the elite Grand Prix tournaments.

Scott, who has won Melrose Sevens twice, said: "I've really enjoyed coaching the women's seven - it's great when you see your coaching come to fruition on the pitch.

"We did really well to win in Ostrava and we should do well again this month.

"There are big plans for the women's seven aside game and it's a good time to be part of it."

Despite a rain-soaked first day at the Greenyards, the Borders youngsters were still all smiles as they were put through their paces by the coaches.

And going by the skills on show during some structured sevens games on the second day, there is plenty of emerging talent in the region.

Scott added: "The boys have excellent skills for their ages but there's always plenty to work on.

"We've had a great two days being back at the Greenyards with the School of Sevens - and we'll be back next year."