Scotland Sevens announce contracted players for upcoming season

Pictured: Thistles coach Ciaran Beattie with the trophy during a Howden Melrose Sevens match at The Greenyards, on May 23, 2026, in Melrose, Scotland.

The programme will be run by Ciaran Beattie, who was previously head coach of Scotland Sevens and has led Great Britain Sevens since Scotland, England and Wales combined to compete on the World Series, due to mandated World Rugby Olympic qualification requirements in 2022.

The men’s programme will continue to operate full-time from Oriam, Scotland’s sports performance centre at Heriot-Watt University, with coaches from across all Scottish Rugby programmes leading the contracted core and Academy prospects from Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors.

The small core of contracted Scotland Sevens players includes three from last year’s cohort: Matt Davidson, Roan Frostwick, and Jacob Henry, along with Ross McCann, Ben Salmon, Freddie Owsley and Lewis Wells.

Davidson began his rugby with Ayr before featuring for Scotland Under-20s and standing out for Heriot’s in the Super Series. He has also played for Edinburgh Rugby, making his debut in 2023, and has been capped by Scotland Sevens, as well as being recently involved in the Great Britain Sevens programme.

25-year-old Frostwick is a product of Edinburgh Rugby’s Academy, Watsonians in the Super Series and Great Britain Sevens. Henry is also a product of the Edinburgh Academy, having come through the Scottish pathway system, and played for Scotland U20’s and Scotland Sevens in the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

McCann has also been selected, having already featured in the Sevens programme as part of the Hong Kong squad, much like Salmon, who was consistently selected throughout the year. The latter is a part of the Glasgow Warriors Pro-Academy, whilst McCann recently played for Edinburgh Rugby and made his Scotland debut against Canada in 2024.

Pictured: Ross McCann during a Scotland Rugby training session at Oriam, on February 06, 2024, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The rest of the squad is comprised by two members of the Scottish Thistles’ winning squad at Melrose: Owsley and Wells.

Owsley’s sporting background was primarily in athletics growing up, but a switch to rugby has now seen an experienced campaigner develop through Edinburgh and Scotland Sevens representation.

Pictured: Scottish Thistles’ Freddie Owsley with the player of the tournament award during a Howden Melrose Sevens match at The Greenyards, on May 23, 2026, in Melrose, Scotland.

Wells came through the Edinburgh Pro Academy. The powerful winger made four appearances for Edinburgh and previously trained with the Scotland national team.

Alongside the contracted core, Academy prospects will also be involved with Scotland Sevens for selected time that aligns with their individual development programmes, and will allow further leadership and skills development to progress in a high-performance environment.

Ben McDonald, Dan Kelly, Hamish MacArthur, Harry Soboil and Sam Byrd make up the capital city’s contingent, with Alex Brydon and Harry Provan representing Glasgow.

Pictured: Scotland’s Hamish MacArthur warms up before an Under-20 Six Nations match between Scotland and France at the Hive Stadium, on March 06, 2026, in Edinburgh.

Current members of the men’s Scotland squad featured for the Scotland Sevens side in previous years to help aid their development. Darcy Graham, Matt Fagerson, Magnus Bradbury, and Kyle Steyn, to name a few, are all proof of the important progression that can be gained through time with the programme.

Scotland Sevens are back in action 9-11 October, for the first time since 2022, as they head to Nairobi to compete in the Safari Sevens tournament facing club teams from the host nation, South Africa, France, England and America. Zimbabwe’s and Zambia’s Sevens teams will also be in attendance.

Head of GB Rugby Sevens, Beattie, said: “We are delighted to be back focusing on sevens in Scotland for another season. Scotland is the birthplace of sevens and holds a special place in any player’s heart here. In our second year of running this programme, in its current form, we’re seeing far more alignment and some really positive stories from last season.

“Players from club, Academy, and professional all representing their country and stretching themself in an environment that is both tough and fun.

“We have been at it now for a few weeks, and I’m looking forward to some of the young guys coming to Kenya for Safari Sevens, to experience what it’s like to be mixed in with our core veteran group.”

Head of Performance Pathways, Al Kellock, said: “It’s great to have our Academy players from Edinburgh and Glasgow heavily involved with the Scotland Sevens squad. Alignment across the pathway for players and coaches is key to our programme as a whole, supporting development and leadership, and this is just another example of that.”

Speaking on his time with Scotland Sevens, Matt Fagerson said: “I loved my time involved with the Sevens programme. It was a great crop while I was involved. I sadly didn’t make the Commonwealth team that year because I got called back to Glasgow for an opportunity after a few injuries, but in terms of training and playing, it’s an incredible game.

2018 Scotland 7s Team Photo
BACK ROW (L-R): Scotland Sevens’ Max McFarland, Lee Jones, Ruaridh Jackson, Matt Fagerson, Glenn Bryce, Nyle Godsmark, Darcy Graham, George Horne.
FRONT ROW (L-R): Scotland Sevens’ Gavin Lowe, James Fleming, Scott Riddell (Captain), Jo Nayacavou, Jamie Farndale.

“Your skills develop, it’s a great group of boys, and you get to travel the world playing in loads of countries, so I can’t speak highly enough about it.”

Scotland Sevens contracted players:

Ben Salmon

Freddie Owsley

Jacob Henry

Lewis Wells

Matt Davidson

Roan Frostwick

Ross McCann

Academy players:

Ben McDonald (Edinburgh Rugby)

Dan Kelly (Edinburgh Rugby)

Hamish MacArthur (Edinburgh Rugby)