Fine margins the difference for Scotland in Vegas

Drawn in a pool alongside eventual finalists Argentina and the All Blacks Scotland were a whisker away from a place in the Cup before eventually losing narrowly to Canada in the Trophy semi-final.

Day One

John Dalziel’s men opened the tournament against Argentina who have been impressive on the World Series so far this year.

It was the South American’s who burst out the block and Scotland found themselves 7-21 down in the second half, Max McFarland with their only score.

A Nick McLennan try followed shortly after by one from Jamie Farndale hinted at an impressive comeback from the Scots however the final conversion sailed just wide of the posts and Argentina took a narrow victory 19-21.

Next up were Uruguay and Scotland put in an impressive performance scoring six tries. Again McFarland, McLennan and Farndale were on the scoresheet with James Fleming, Darcy Graham and Gavin Lowe contributing to a 40-14 victory.

Day Two

Scotland now faced New Zealand with both side knowing the winner would progress to the Cup competition.

Despite the All Blacks taking an early lead it was Scotland playing the better rugby, Jamie Farndale finishing off a beautiful length of the field team score.

Jo Nayacavou gave Scotland the lead straight from the kick off with a perfectly timed run, but New Zealand hit back with two scores before the break.

A late Nyle Godsmark score wasn’t enough to give Scotland the result their expansive play had deserved, 17-26 the final score.

The Scots got back to winning ways in the Trophy quarter final against Russia. Graham, Nayacavou, Godsmark and Robbie Fergusson scoring the tries in a 24-12 victory.

Day Three

Looking to finish on a high their next opponents were Canada in the semi-final. Gavin Lowe was unable to convert his own first half score, but Scotland only trailed by two points at the break.

Nick McLennan gave his side the lead before Canada tied things up with just seconds to go. Just as it looked like extra time was looming the referee awarded Canada a penalty that they duly dropped between the posts to win the game.

Reaction

Scotland Head Coach John Dalziel said: “I’m really pleased with the fact we were so competitive in all of our matches and there were some real stand out performances.

“As a team we scored some terrific tries, putting many exciting phases together and had a real opportunity to beat both Argentina and New Zealand.

“A victory against Canada could have put a very different perspective on the whole weekend but I’m really pleased with what we are building here.

“Our young players are growing week in week out and our experienced players such as Scott (Riddell), Nick (McLennan), Jo (Nayacavou) and Gav (Lowe) are leading well.

“We need to start managing periods of the game a little better and control the unforced errors at key times but these are fine margins and we are not far away from really clicking.”