EDINBURGH have released one of their star protégés to the Scotland sevens team as they bid to rouse the great expatriate support at the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens.

Ross Rennie, who started the season in outstanding form for Edinburgh and was tipped for international honours, has, almost inevitably for a young player, struggled to maintain the form throughout the season.

Rennie has been allowed to return to the sevens arena where he starred in 2005-06.

The squad, always heavily supported by Scots in Hong Kong, also features five uncapped sevens players, including new Glasgow signing Max Evans, the brother of Thom, Rennie's Edinburgh team-mate Simon Cross and Graham Hogg, the promising Borders centre.

Rennie said: "I'm really looking forward to playing sevens again, especially with Murrayfield hosting the final leg this year. I think it'll be good for me to sharpen my game; it'll be great going back to Hong Kong - it's one of the best I've ever played in as the atmosphere is really wild - and playing in the Adelaide tournament for the first time."

• With last year's finalists Watsonians and Currie knocked out of this year's Scottish Cup, the quarter-final draw has left the race to Murrayfield wide open.

Stewart's-Melville FP, Edinburgh Accies and Boroughmuir have both been handed home ties. Boroughmuir are away to the winners of Aberdeen Grammar Rugby, as they are now called and Cartha Queen's Park. The outstanding ties are to be played on 31 March with the quarter-finals scheduled for Saturday 7 April.

Scotland 7s squad (for Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens, 30 March-1 April, and Adelaide Sevens, 7-8 April): M Adamson (Glasgow Hawks), B Addison (Glasgow/Stirling County), C Anderson (Borders/Melrose), S Crombie (Borders/Aberdeen Grammar), S Cross (Edinburgh), Max Evans (Glasgow Warriors/Hawks), S Forrest (Borders/Hawick), R Grant (Borders/Gala), G Hogg (Borders/Hawick), J Hunter (Glasgow/Hillhead-Jordanhill), R Rennie (Edinburgh), C White (Glasgow/Ayr).

Scotland fixtures at Hong Kong Sevens: Friday 30 March: Scotland v Portugal (7.10pm). Saturday 31 March: Scotland v Sri Lanka (10.30am); Fiji v Scotland (5.06pm).

Adelaide Sevens draw: Pool A: Fiji, England, Canada, Tonga. Pool B: South Africa, France, Kenya, Japan. Pool C: New Zealand, Australia, Wales, Hong Kong. Pool D: Samoa, Argentina, Scotland, Portugal.

This article was originally posted on 22-Mar-2007, 08:35 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 22-Mar-2007, 08:39.