Scotland Squad Announced For London Leg Of Hsbc Sevens World Series

Scotland 7s head coach Graham Shiel today confirmed the 12-man squad for the Emirates Airline London Sevens this Saturday, one week out from Series finale at Murrayfield Stadium on 28 and 29 May. Having already announced a squad of 16 to cover the last two legs of the HSBC Sevens World Series, Shiel has picked eight of the 10 that lifted the NCS Glasgow City Sevens trophy under the banner of Glasgow Warriors two days ago.Scotland 7s head coach Graham Shiel today confirmed the 12-man squad for the Emirates Airline London Sevens this Saturday, one week out from Series finale at Murrayfield Stadium on 28 and 29 May. Having already announced a squad of 16 to cover the last two legs of the HSBC Sevens World Series, Shiel has picked eight of the 10 that lifted the NCS Glasgow City Sevens trophy under the banner of Glasgow Warriors two days ago. In the forwards that accounts for Scott Newlands (Edinburgh), Scott Riddell (Stewart’s Melville), Struan Dewar (Edinburgh elite development player) and Michael Fedo (Team Northumbria), with incoming Edinburgh back-row, Stuart McInally, completing the pack. The Glasgow tournament was an impressive showing for Scotland’s backs with prolific contributions from reselected Edinburgh trio Andrew Turnbull, Ross Samson and Tom Brown, and Glasgow Warriors’ centre Peter Horne [pictured]. Edinburgh’s young player of the season, Lee Jones, is added to the backs, bringing the pace and guile he displayed to great effect in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and throughout his debut season at the club. The squad is completed by this season’s ever-present backs, Andrew Skeen (Watsonians) and Fraser Harkness (Selkirk), who have played in every tournament since round one in Dubai.Scotland 7s head coach Graham Shiel, said: “The Glasgow City Sevens provided us with an opportunity to gain more meaningful preparation in a challenging environment. “It was very valuable because it’s a real live situation, we had to play well and perform under pressure. There were no second chances and was therefore a more realistic representation of what we’ll be up against in London. “Overall it’s our most balanced squad this season. We have players with a physical presence as well as good athletes and ball handlers. It’s important for us to compete physically but we have to mix that with skilful play so we can take and avoid contact on our terms.” The Scots will open the London leg against Series champions Samoa (10.30am) followed by defending cup holders Australia (1.58pm) and Hong Kong Bowl winners Canada (4.54pm) to determine their fate on day two. The following weekend, the Series will head north for the season finale at Murrayfield where Plate holders Scotland will face another tough assignment, taking on Pacific Islanders and renowned sevens specialists Samoa and Fiji, as well as Series regulars USA on day one (Saturday 28 May). “Qualification for the Cup quarter-final has been our goal throughout the season which will be very difficult with the calibre of opposition we’ll face but we have to be ambitious in our aims and strive towards achieving that,” added Shiel. “Murrayfield is our home tournament which is fantastic for all the players and we have to use the advantages of big home support and a familiar training and playing environment however, while there’s a lot of real positives in those facts, we have to stay focussed on our own performance as we will not achieve success just because we’re at home.” Last season the Scots performed heroics on home soil, beating Fiji, Wales and the USA before trumping both South Africa and Argentina on day two to win the silver platter and target another tremendous tournament on home soil.