Gemmell Stands Down As Sevens Coach

Scottish Rugby confirmed today that Stephen Gemmell has stepped down as the head coach of the national sevens side to take up a new role in the governing body – his replacement will be announced tomorrow (Thursday 28 October). Gemmell took the reigns from Edinburgh Rugby head coach Rob Moffat following the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and made his Scotland 7s coaching debut in the Dubai tournament of the 2006/07 IRB Sevens World Series. Scottish Rugby confirmed today that Stephen Gemmell has stepped down as the head coach of the national sevens side to take up a new role in the governing body – his replacement will be announced tomorrow (Thursday 28 October). Gemmell took the reigns from Edinburgh Rugby head coach Rob Moffat following the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and made his Scotland 7s coaching debut in the Dubai tournament of the 2006/07 IRB Sevens World Series.In his four years as head coach, Gemmell steered the team through 32 IRB World Series events with clear highlights being the consecutive cup semi-finals of the London and Edinburgh legs of the 2008/09 IRB Sevens World Series, lifting the Plate in the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai and again in the Edinburgh leg of the 2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series before raising Scotland’s seeding two places (from sixth to eighth) in his 2010 Commonwealth Games swansong in Delhi. Gemmell said: “It’s been a privilege to be involved with Scotland 7s over the last four years, a time that I will remember for a long time to come. “The Commonwealth Games was a great experience to be involved in and credit to the players who performed the way they did in the games. There was also disappointment that we couldn’t finish it off against South Africa and get that medal opportunity but coming out in sixth position puts Scotland 7s in a nice position to move forward. “From my point of view I knew it was coming to an end, it was a great way to finish and for me it’s not about looking back but about looking forward.” Alongside his coaching role Gemmell acted as the National Academy manager from 2007 where he remained until his recent appointment as Scottish Rugby’s head of player development earlier this year, with his increased commitments bringing an end to his coaching career. He added: “I’m fortunate that I’m still involved with Scottish Rugby and am in a position now where I can have a big influence on the future of professional and international players and that’s a massive responsibility and honour.” Stephen GemmellPosition: Head of player development (2010 to date)Scotland 7s head coach (2006 to 2010)International coaching record: Glasgow U19, U21, Scotland Women (assistant, 02-06), Scotland U19 (assistant, 05-06), Scotland 7s (2006-2010)