Scotland claim silverware at Paris 7s

Scotland 7s defeated England 28-10 today at Paris 7s to lift their second consecutive Bowl final – and their third of their season following wins in Cape Town and Singapore.Calum MacRae’s men saved their best performance to last and blew their English counterparts away in their third game of the day, after defeats of Brazil (38-14) and USA (14-12), in the quarter and semi-final respectively. The win gave Scotland eight Series points, which sees them sit on 65 points in 11th place on the overall table going into the final round in London next week, where they will meet France, Kenya and Portugal.Scotland captain Scott Wight said:”We had a great day today. This morning we set ourselves the target of winning the Bowl, and the boys really stepped up to the plate.”We were a bit frustrated yesterday, when we ran Samoa close and they beat us in the last play of the game, and they went on the win the final today, so it just shows how close a tournament it’s been.”Its really positive for us to finish the tournament like this ahead of Twickenham next week.”We’ve been creating opportunities, but unfortunately we’ve just not taken them. Today, however, we’ve been clinical and hopefully we’ll take that momentum into next week.”Scotland opened their day with a fine attacking display against Brazil, with three tries in quick succession from James Fleming, Wight and Dougie Fife – all of which were converted by Wight – giving the dark blues a 21-0 lead after six minutes.Fife was sin-binned for a high-tackle in the phase of play following his try, and Brazil took full advantage of their extra man, scoring a try either side of half-time to narrow the gap to just seven points after eight minutes (21-14).However, when back to full strength, Scotland upped the tempo and again took control with Fleming scoring a further two tries for his hat-trick, and Jamie Farndale dotting down late on in the tie, to close the game at 38-14 in favour of the Scots. Next up was a sterner test in the form of USA Eagles, who currently sit sixth in the Series standings. In a tightly contested opening half, Fife opened the scoring, before USA replied through former Glasgow Warriors centre, Folau Niua. Both tries were converted, taking the score to 7-all at the interval. The ever-present Scott Riddell put his side ahead after nine minutes, with which Nick McLennan, who had taken on kicking duties in the absence of Scott Wight, converting the try to give Scotland a 14-7 lead.USA persisted, however, and battled on well into extra time to score through Zack Test, to take the scores to 14-12 with the conversion to come. Yet the wide angle proved too much for Madison Hughes, who was unable to add the extras, handing Scotland a ticket to the final, where England would await. Scotland started with a bang against England, and tries from James Johnstone and Wight, both of which were converted by the latter, gave MacRae’s men a 14-0 lead after just four minutes.With England reduced to six men after six minutes, Scotland’s early onslaught continued with Damien Hoyland showing his prowess in the abbreviated game in scoring his side’s third try of the game. Wight, again, added the extras. England scored on the cusp of half-time through the previously sin-binned Richard De Carpentier, to take the scores to 21-5 at the break. Farndale again made an impact fresh off the bench, when he powered through the English defence to take Scotland 26-5 ahead on nine minutes, with Wight adding a further two points through the conversion.England, however, had the final say with a try from Charlie Hayter, yet Scotland’s lead proved to great, and the game finished at 28-10 in favour of the Scots.