Hoyland shines as Scotland head into Wellington Cup competition

Scotland 7s have reached their third consecutive Cup quarter-final on the HSBC Sevens World Series.With victories over Samoa, 14-7 and Argentina, their first win over the Pumas this season, they will now meet USA at 12.28am (UK time) on day two (Saturday 7 February) at the Wellington 7s.They suffered one defeat to Kenya, 14-21, in Pool D, which meant the Africans qualified ahead of them at the end of the day.The man-of-the-day was Edinburgh Rugby’s winger Damien Hoyland who touched down a total of six times, scoring twice in every match. Colin Gregor joined him on the score sheet with one try and seven conversions. Scotland 7s Head Coach, Calum MacRae, said: “I’m really please for the players, they dug deep in the last tie against Argentina and brought the intensity we needed.”We weren’t happy with the performance against Kenya. Some errors and poor game management cost us.But, we fronted up well in and around the tackle contest against Samoa and Argentina, which allowed us to dictate the tempo of the games and efficient contacts set a platform for us to launch off.”Damien [Hoyland] has built on the good performances he had in Dubai and Port Elizabeth. His try scoring was always going to come as his game understanding improved. He’s a winger and loves scoring tries.”Hoyland opened Scotland 7s’ scoring in Wellington with a brace against Samoa.This gave his side a comfortable 14-0 lead at half-time, as experienced stand-off Colin Gregor coolly slotted both conversions. In the second period it was a different story with the Scots’ opponents fighting back, through tries from Samoa Toloa and Greg Foe. However, in the end it was the accuracy of the boot that saw Scotland pip the victory as Toloa only kicked one conversion, 14-12.Six for HoylandAgainst Kenya, Hoyland was the double try scorer again, when he turned on the gas impressively out wide after two minutes. He then touched down a second time before the break, after Riddell set him up down the middle of the park. Gregor converted both.Between Hoyland’s two tries Daniel Sikuta scored for Kenya with Lavin Asego converting.In the second-half a fight back from Kenya saw a brace from Lamech Billy Odhiambo, with one converted by Asego.Scotland, with seconds left on the clock, managed to get within touching distance of the try line but were undone by a very physical opponent reluctant to give up their lead, 14-21.Lastly, Hoyland’s strike rate continued with a further two tries in the first half v Argentina, which put them ahead at the break, 14-7.Shortly after the break Gregor then touched down, running a lovely angle and added the extras to his score, having already slotted both after Hoyland’s tries. As the clock moved towards the finish Argentina managed one more score, but Scotland ensured that was all and that they would progress to the Cup quarter-finals. Wellington 7s day one Scotland 14-12 SamoaTries: Damien Hoyland (2)Conversions: Colin Gregor (2)Starting team: Scott Riddell, Struan Dewar, Mark Robertson, James Johnstone, Colin Gregor, Damien Hoyland and Scott Wight.Replacements: Chris Dean (12 mins), James Fleming, Nyle Godsmark, Darren Gillespie and Gavin Lowe (not used). Scotland 14-19 KenyaTries: Damien Hoyland (2)Conversions: Colin Gregor (2)Starting team: Scott Riddell, Struan Dewar, Mark Robertson, James Johnstone, Colin Gregor, Damien Hoyland and Scott Wight.Replacements: Nyle Godsmark (7 mins), Chris Dean, James Fleming, Gavin Lowe (all 11 mins) and Darren Gillespie (14 mins).Scotland 21-14 ArgentinaTries: Damien Hoyland (2), Colin GregorConversions: Colin Gregor (3)Starting team: Scott Riddell, Struan Dewar, Mark Robertson, James Johnstone, Colin Gregor, Damien Hoyland and Scott Wight.Replacements: Chris Dean (9 mins), Nyle Godsmark, Darren Gillespie, Gavin Lowe (11 mins) and James Fleming (not used).