GEMMELL SETS DOWN CHALLENGE FOR SCOTLAND 7s


Scotland 7s coach Stephen Gemmell has set his squad a tough challenge ahead of the IRB Sevens World Series event in New Zealand on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 February.

The Scots have been drawn against Argentina, USA and Tonga in Pool D of the tournament, and despite how it looks on paper, Gemmell knows that topping this Pool with be a mammoth achievement for his players.

“It’s probably the toughest section in the tournament,” Gemmell said. “You look at the other pools and you can get a rough idea of who will qualify, but anyone is capable of winning our pool.

“Argentina are brimming with confidence after their recent performances in the XV-a-side game and their third place finish in the last tournament in George [South Africa].

“The USA and Tonga will also be tough, physical games because they are out to prove how badly they want to become a core team.”

Setting the targets for his side, Gemmell added: “We want to enhance our stature as one of the top eight teams in the world, and if we are going to achieve this, we have to be capable and confident of beating these teams. On our day, we can do that but it’ll be a big challenge for our boys.”

Pools for the IRB New Zealand Sevens on 1 & 2 February 2008
Pool A: New Zealand, Samoa, Canada, Papua New Guinea
Pool B: Fiji, England, Wales, Cook Islands
Pool C: South Africa, Kenya, Australia, France
Pool D: Argentina, Scotland, USA, Tonga

Scotland 7s’ fixtures on day one of the IRB New Zealand Sevens
1:22pm – Scotland v Tonga
4:18pm – Scotland v USA
8:50pm – Argentina v Scotland

This article was posted on 19-Dec-2007, 09:04 by Hugh Barrow.