Best ever Dubai finish for Scotland 7s
Scotland 7s had their best ever finish in the Dubai 7s today by reaching the Plate final, earning a sixth place finish and 12 HSBC Sevens World Series points, after the second leg of the circuit.They will next be in action in the Nelson Mandela Bay 7s, Port Elizabeth next weekend (Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 December), where they’ll face Fiji, Canada and France.The Scots played some positive rugby this weekend and there were some impressive performances across the park, despite losing out to Argentina in the second tier final, 12-26.Mark Robertson, who looked on top form was the Scots’ top try scorer with five touch downs, taking his sevens try-total to 54; Scott Wight’s extensive sevens knowledge was clear, as he led the team with clever plays, and 52 times capped scrum-half Colin Gregor scored 48 points, over the two days.BT Sport Academy level three stand-off Gavin Lowe also made his debut and Damien Hoyland and Nyle Godsmark showed their skills in their second outing on the circuit, with the latter scoring his first World Series try.Head Coach, Calum MacRae, said: “We have moved our game on from the Gold Coast with some strong performances against Wales and Samoa.”The boys knew they had let themselves down against New Zealand yesterday. It wasn’t that we lost the game that was disappointing, but the manner in which we lost, having never really fired a shot.”The players put that behind them, they fronted up and delivered a clinical performance against Japan.In the broader sense we’re becoming a more competitive outfit and I see that breading confidence in the players, which is important.”The real test is consistency and we’re now fully focussed on the task ahead in Port Elizabeth.”It was a good day for former Scotland 7s internationalist Mike Adamson too. He was selected to referee the final between South Africa and Australia, his highest accolade yet since taking up the whistle. He played 27 times for the abbreviated national team.He said: “It was absolutely brilliant being selected to take charge of the Dubai 7s final.Having played here twice the buzz of the whole event never ceases to excite me.This was a massive opportunity I knew I had to take with two hands and it’s something that will help me push on with my refereeing.”Scotland 7s went into day two having finished second in Pool B yesterday, where they notched two wins against Samoa (21-14) and Japan (47-0) and lost to New Zealand (0-43).They opened the second day of competition in the desert with a closely fought match with Australia that ended 22-17 to the southern hemisphere side and ultimate tournament runners-up.They then followed this up with an impressive 31-7 win against Wales in the Plate semi-final before concluding the weekend against the Pumas.The team came out the blocks firing this morning against Australia in the Cup quarter-final, but despite taking a 5-0 lead with a try that was run in from 90 metres by Robertson, they were edged, 17-22 by their opponents.Australia went ahead on the stroke of half-time following tries from captain Edward Jenkins and star-man Pama Fou, 5-10.Cameron Clark then scored a third try for Australia immediately in the second-half, before Sam Myers completed their scoring, 5-22.A late fight-back then saw captain Wight chase down a clearance kick, over the whitewash. He collected the bounce and scored, Nyle Godsmark then scored moments later, 17-22.Against Wales, Scotland looked sharp once again and commanded the tempo of the tie from start to finish.Less than a minute into play James Johnstone sent Gregor into space. He ran a perfectly executed line that saw him score under the posts, a second try then came for Scott Riddell, giving the Scots a 14-0 lead at half-time.Wales seemed to lift the intensity in the second-period and this paid off when Tomas Williams scored almost instantly after the restart. However, Scotland regrouped and tries followed for Gregor, Robertson and Colin Shaw. Shaw’s try was set-up by a beautiful back door offload from Godsmark. The tie ended 31-7.In the final, Scotland quickly went ahead 12-0 with well-worked tries from Robertson and Wight.However, on the stroke of half-time Argentina scored and then from their on the Scot’s became out-muscled and let the lead slip from their finger tips. The game ended 12-26.Dubai 7s day two Scotland 17-22 Australia (Cup quarter-final)Tries: Mark Robertson, Scott Wight and Nyle GodsmarkConversion: Colin GregorStarting team: Scott Riddell, James Eddie, Mark Robertson, James Johnstone, Colin Gregor, Scott Wight CAPTAIN and Lee Jones.Replacements: Joseva Nayacavou, Damien Hoyland (both 8 mins), Gavin Lowe (10 mins), Nyle Godsmark and Colin Shaw (both 12 mins).Scotland 31-7 Wales (Plate semi-final)Scotland 31-7 Wales (Plate semi-final)Tries: Colin Gregor (2), Scott Riddell, Mark Robertson and Colin ShawConversion: Colin Gregor (3)Starting team: Scott Riddell, James Eddie, Mark Robertson, James Johnstone, Colin Gregor, Scott Wight CAPTAIN and Lee Jones.Replacements: Gavin Lowe, Joseva Nayacavou (both 9 mins), Damien Hoyland, Nyle Godsmark and Colin Shaw (all 12 mins). Scotland 12-26 Argentina (Plate final)Tries: Mark Robertson and Scott WightConversion: Colin GregorStarting team: Scott Riddell, James Eddie, Mark Robertson, James Johnstone, Colin Gregor, Damien Hoyland and Scott Wight CAPTAIN.Replacements: Joseva Naycavou (7 mins), Colin Shaw, Gavin Lowe (12 mins), Nyle Godsmark and Lee Jones (not used).Dubai 7s day one Scotland 21-14 SamoaTries: Scott Wight, James Johnstone and Mark RobertsonConversions: Colin Gregor (3)Starting team: Scott Riddell, James Eddie, James Johnstone, Colin Gregor, Mark Robertson, Scott Wight CAPTAIN and Lee Jones.Replacements: Colin Shaw, Gavin Lowe (both 9 mins), Joseva Nayacavou, Damien Hoyland (both 13 mins) and Nyle Godsmark (not used).Scotland 0-43 New ZealandStarting team: James Eddie, Mark Robertson, Nyle Godsmark, James Johnstone, Scott Wight CAPTAIN, Lee Jones and Gavin Lowe.Replacements: Scott Riddell, Colin Gregor (both 7 mins), Damien Hoyland, Joseva Nayacavou (both 8 mins) and Coli Shaw (10 mins).Scotland 47-0 JapanTries: Colin Gregor (2), James Eddie, Scott Wight, James Johnstone, Lee Jones and Mark RobertsonConversions: Colin Gregor (6)Starting team: Scott Riddell, James Eddie, Mark Robertson, James Johnstone, Colin Gregor, Scott Wight CAPTAIN and Lee Jones.Replacements: Colin Shaw (8 mins), Damien Hoyland, Joseva Nayacavou (both 10 mins), Nyle Godsmark and Gavin Lowe (12 mins).