Scotland 7s were knocked out of the Adelaide Sevens Bowl semi-final by the USA today with just one tournament (London) separating them from the eight-leg HSBC Sevens World Series finale at Murrayfield, Edinburgh at the at the end of May (28/29). Ater a tough start to the tournament on day one, with consecutive defeats to Cup semi-finalists England (45-7) and seventh-placed Argentina (22-7), a 19-14 win over Papua New Guinea set up today’s Bowl quarter-final with the Cook Islands. A comfortable clean sheet win over the Islanders (28-0) put the Scots through against the USA where a poor start was their ultimate undoing, despite a gutsy comeback (29-19).Scotland 7s were knocked out of the Adelaide Sevens Bowl semi-final by the USA today with just one tournament (London) separating them from the eight-leg HSBC Sevens World Series finale at Murrayfield, Edinburgh at the at the end of May (28/29). After a tough start to the tournament on day one, with consecutive defeats to Cup semi-finalists England (45-7) and seventh-placed Argentina (22-7), a 19-14 win over Papua New Guinea set up today’s Bowl quarter-final with the Cook Islands. A comfortable clean sheet win over the Islanders (28-0) put the Scots through against the USA where a poor start was their ultimate undoing, despite a gutsy comeback (29-19). Scotland 7s head coach Graham Shiel, said: “The players took a lot of confidence from the Cook Islands match into the USA game and ultimately we put ourselves in a position to win the semi-final. “In the second half we were pushing really hard and were accurate for that period to change the momentum of the match but we couldn’t sustain that level of performance and eventually relinquished possession and ultimately the scores. “At the moment we’re making small advances but without consistency in the squad we take steps backwards which is the frustrating part of our performances. “Differences in core skills are highlighted most under pressure, especially on a world stage, which is frustrating for the players who work really hard but when the accuracy isn’t there they’re punished, and rightly so at this level.” Tickets for this fast and furious festival of rugby are on sale now and are priced from£5 for under-18s,£10 for students and senior citizens and£20 for adults. All tickets are any day tickets – valid for one day of your choice, either Saturday 28 May or Sunday 29 May.Two tries in either half put Scotland through to the semis without conceding a single point. Andrew Turnbull and Fraser Harkness crossed the line in the first period followed by a second Turnbull score after the break before Andrew Skeen made it four with a minute remaining. Skeen’s competence to convert remained throughout the match as he slotted four from four to make for a comfortable scoreline against the relatively inexperience Islanders (28-0). The win lined the Scots up with the USA in the penultimate round, their opponents earning the right to play for a place in the final with a hard-fought quarter-final win over Shield winners Japan (22-19). Crucial to the Scot’s undoing was their start to the match, as the United States ran in three tries with no reply to make for a daunting half-time score, 19-0. However, after the interval, it took Scotland just 40 seconds to get their first try with Mike Adamson registering the unconverted effort before Ross Miller added another, two minutes later. Skeen’s conversion meant that a single converted score separated the teams (19-12) however, despite the Scottish revival, the USA bit back with two unconverted tries to put them all but through to the final (29-12) though the Scots refused to throw in the towel and held on to the ball for a minute and a half after the hooter until Andrew Turnbull crossed for the consolation try which Skeen converted, 29-19. Elsewhere in the competition, New Zealand extended their lead at the top of the Series table with a tense 28-20 Cup final victory over South Africa to put them 13 points clear of England with two HSBC Sevens World Series tournaments remaining, London and then Edinburgh for the Series finale at Murrayfield stadium on 28 and 29 May 2011. Day two of the Adelaide SevensBowl quarter-final: Scotland 28-0 Cook IslandsBowl quarter-final: USA 28-19 Scotland Day one of the Adelaide SevensEngland 45-7 ScotlandArgentina 22-7 ScotlandScotland 19-14 Papua New Guinea Scotland squad for Hong Kong and Adelaide Sevens: Mike Adamson (Glasgow Hawks), Tom Bury (Boroughmuir), Graham Fisken (West of Scotland), Michael Fedo (Team Northumbria), Finlay Gillies (Glasgow Warriors elite development/Currie), Fraser Harkness (Selkirk), James Johnstone (Glasgow Warriors elite development/Currie), Jonny Macdonald (Cardiff University), Ross Miller (Glasgow Hawks), Ross Samson (Edinburgh Rugby), Andrew Turnbull (Edinburgh Rugby), Andrew Skeen (Watsonians)