Darcy Graham named in Scotland 7s squad

The winger, who featured twice for the 7s side in last season’s World Series, is currently in South Africa with Edinburgh as the squad gear up to face both the Toyota Cheetahs and Southern Kings in consecutive weeks. The 20-year-old will link up with his 7s teammates prior to next weekend’s opening tournament in Dubai.

Graham – who signed a professional contract with Edinburgh in the summer – burst onto the world rugby scene following a string of impressive performances for Scotland u-20’s during the age-grade side’s successful World Championships in Georgia. However, after featuring in both of Edinburgh’s pre-season fixtures against Sale Sharks and Newcastle Falcons, the winger suffered an unfortunate knee injury whilst turning out for club side Hawick on the opening day of the season and has yet to make his competitive debut for the club.

The 20-year-old, who has since fully recovered from the knee injury, was delighted to receive the call-up to 7s squad and said: “I’m really looking forward to just getting back to playing rugby.

Rehab has been tough, but I feel great and can’t wait to hit the ground running in Dubai. Playing 7s will undoubtedly improve my skills and I’ll hopefully return to playing 15’s even fitter and sharper than before.

Scotland 7s Head Coach John Dalziel added: “We are all looking forward to the start of the season and adding new experience and depth to our squad.

“The lads have trained very well over a long period and they are a tight group. We will face some very experienced and settled teams so we know we have to be at our very best straight from the off.

“It’s the start of a new cycle with a great crop of young players coming through our age grade systems, many of whom I have worked with previously. The young players are complimented well with the experience of our core players and there is the huge responsibility of representing Scotland for all involved.”