Scotland 7s claim silverware in Singapore

Scotland 7s lifted their second piece of silverware this season in winning the Bowl at Singapore 7s, after a fantastic performance on day two of competition. Calum MacRae’s side defeated Canada (26-19) in the competition’s quarter-final, before seeing off rivals England (19-14) to bag a spot in the final , where they were victorious over USA (14-10).The win gives Scotland eight Series points, and sees them sit 11th in the table with just two rounds of the circuit left to play this season, in Paris and London. In the former, Scotland will meet current Series leaders, Fiji, Samoa and Wales. The opening game of the day against Canada was an intense, end-to-end affair, with the sides exchanging two tries a piece in the first half – Scotland’s coming through James Johnstone and Nick McLennan, both of which were converted by Scott Wight – to take the score to 14-all at the break. Scotland’s Hugh Blake was shown a yellow card prior to the break, yet his side showed great resilience in continuing to battle on, despite their opposition’s man advantage.Two quickfire tries from Scotland powerhouse, Jamie Farndale – the latter of which was converted by McLennan – gave the men in blue a comfortable 24-14 as the game drew to a close.Canada managed to salvage a further try on the hooter, but it was Scotland who progressed to the semi-final with a 24-19 victory.Next up was England, and Scotland got off to a flyer with the impressive James Johnstone touching down in the third minute. Wight’s conversion gave Scotland an early 7-0 lead.England hit back with a score of their own through Cameron Cowell, who duly converted his own score, but Mark Robertson secured Scotland the lead at the interval with a try of his own. Wight’s conversion gave Scotland a 14-7 lead at the turn.Again, Scotland struck first in the second half, and again Robertson was the man leading the charge as he touched down after 10 minutes to stretch his side’s lead (19-7).As the game approached its close, England grabbed their second score of the game, but it wasn’t enough as Scotland bagged a 19-14 win and a chance to compete for the Bowl against USA. Following suit from their earlier ties, the men in dark blue were far superior in the opening exchanges of the final, and Hugh Blake was first to dot down after 5 minute, before Robertson grabbed his third of the day prior to the half-time hooter. Scott Wight successfully converted both tries to give Scotland a comfortable 14-0 lead at the interval.The momentum swung in favour of USA in the second-half, however, and quick-fire tries from Zack Test and Maka Unufe closed the gap to just four points (14-10) with three minutes still left on the clock. Scotland’s hunger for silverware was evident, and the doggedness in defence was enough to hold out the opposition and claim the Singapore 7s Bowl.