Scotland win Hong Kong Challenge Trophy

Scotland 7s won three games at the final day in Hong Kong on their way to lifting the Challenge Trophy.After a disappointing pool stage that saw them lose three games, Scotland responded magnificently with wins against Samoa, France and Kenya. The ninth place finish leaves Scotland in eighth place overall on the World Series table and they have been drawn in Pool D against USA, New Zealand and Wales ahead of next week’s Singapore tournament.Scotland’s Hong Kong competition started against Argentina, where tries from Dougie Fife and Jamie Farndale weren’t enough to beat the South Americans who took the game 22-14.Next up were USA and a despite an impressive second half come back led by Hugh Blake and Jo Nayacavou, Perry Baker’s first half hat-trick proved costly, the final score 14-19.A try from Farndale gave Scotland a half time lead in their final pool game against Russia, but the opposition were too strong in the second period and took the game 5-14.Drawn against Samoa in the Challenge Trophy, Scotland looked motivated to improve their performances on the final day and did so winning 26-21. Blake, Grayson Hart, James Fleming and Darcy Graham with the tries.Next up were France and Scotland fell 5-19 behind early in the second half. However late tries from Blair Kinghorn and Nayacavou added to Blake’s first half effort and Scotland were in the final.Kenya were the opposition and again it was a thrilling contest. A try from Hart and two from Fleming gave Scotland a commanding lead that they were able to defend despite a Kenyan fight back, the final score 21-19.Reaction:Scotland 7s Head Coach Calum MacRae said: “The learning curve was pretty steep with a number of new combinations in the squad.”I was particularly pleased with the young players; they took lessons from the pool and bounced back with three wins.”Darcy (Graham) and Blair (Kinghorn) found their feet, scoring some great tries at important times today and Grayson (Hart) got better with every game. The challenge now is for them to back up on today’s performance next week.”James Fleming is becoming a top performer on the series and his all round consistency has come a long way.”Across the team our basics and pass accuracy must improve if we are to regain our early season form but today was a strong step in the right direction.”