Scotland 7S Season Starts In Singapore

The Scotland 7s squad will begin their preparations for the IRB Sevens World Series campaign by taking part in the Singapore Cricket Club International 7s to be held on 27-28 October 2007. The Scotland 7s squad will begin their preparations for the IRB Sevens World Series campaign by taking part in the Singapore Cricket Club International 7s to be held on 27-28 October 2007. The event will form part of the build up to the first tournament of the IRB Sevens World Series which begins in Dubai on 30 November and 1 December and culminates at Murrayfield for Emirates Edinburgh 7s on 30 May and 1 June. The team are able to participate in the Singapore event thanks to support from Weatherford Pipeline & Specialty Services, a global company with a long history of supporting 7s rugby under the Rugby Ecosse banner. The Scotland team will enter as Rugby Ecosse Scotland 7s. Keith O’Connor, Vice President of Weatherford’s Pipeline and Specialty Services group, commented It really is great to be able to support the 7s team in their preparation for the IRB World Series. Having always had a great interest in the sport it gives me great pleasure to watch the players train and perform well. I wish the team luck and will be following them every step of the way.The Singapore tournament provides an excellent opportunity for players from the Scotland 7s training squad to stake a claim for selection in the IRB Series. As last year, the nucleus of the squad will be selected from the National Academy, with the potential of one or two pro-team players also being included. Scotland 7s head coach Stephen Gemmell said: This selection policy was introduced last season with favourable results – an unprecedented five consecutive quarter finals, with Scotland finishing ninth overall in the table. Our aim now is to build on last year’s performances whilst continuing to use International 7s as an environment to improve our talented young players.The Singapore tournament celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2007 and will include teams such as Ponsonby (NZ), St George (England development), Randwick (Australia), Davetalevu (Fiji), Emerging Springboks (SA) and the USA Eagles. Gemmell added: To be able to experience a tournament of this size prior to the IRB Series starting is of great value to us and allows players to perform over two days of intense competition. Places for Dubai and George are up for grabs and this is the ideal opportunity for players to push themselves forward for selection. We are immensely grateful to Weatherfords and Rugby Ecosse for their support. Rugby Ecosse/Scotland 7s management team: Coach – Stephen Gemmell Manager – Karen Burnett Physio – Dan Moore IRB Sevens World Series dates: Dubai – 30 November/1 December 2007 George, South Africa – 7/8 December 2007 Wellington – 1/2 February 2008 San Diego – 9/10 February 2008 Hong Kong – 28/29/30 March 2008 Adelaide – 5/6 April 2008 London – 24/25 May 2008 Edinburgh – 31 May/1 June 2008