Posted: 10/Feb/08
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The Scotland 7s team reached their nine consecutive Cup quarter-final in the early hours this morning.

Competing in the fourth leg of the IRB Sevens World Series in San Diego (USA), the Scots edged their way through to the knock-out stages of the Cup competition having worked their way through the challenging Pool A which saw them line up against France, Wales and New Zealand.

See Scotlands progress on day one of the tournament below.

SCOTLAND 7s 19  12 FRANCE 7s
Scotland 7s made a winning start to the USA Sevens in San Diego with a win over France.

France took an early lead but Scotland levelled the score with a try from Chris Fusaro which was converted by Mike Adamson.

The Scots then took the lead when Greig Laidlaw crossed the line and Adamson was again on target with the conversion.

Richie Vernon put the Scots 12 points in front with a try of his own in the second half.

France fought back with a try in the last play of the game but it was Scotland 7s coach Stephen Gemmell who was pleased with his sides performance after the 14 minutes.

He said: There was some very good stuff in attack in that game. We looked very dangerous.

There are a few things to work on in defence because we fell off a few tackles but its a positive start to the tournament.

Scotland 7s: Scott Forrest CAPTAIN, Chris Fusaro, Richie Vernon, Greig Laidlaw, Mike Adamson, James Thompson, Colin Shaw
Substitutes: Jamie Hunter for Fusaro, Ali Warnock for Shaw and Scott Newlands for Vernon

SCOTLAND 7s 12  14 WALES 7s
Scotland met Wales for the second time in a week, having faced them at the Wellington Sevens in New Zealand last weekend, and it was Wales who took the spoils once again.

Wales came out of the blocks quickest in this encounter with two early tries.

But it was Mike Adamson who continued to pile on the points with his own try before he converted a Richie Vernon score.

Coach Stephen Gemmell was first to admit that it was a very close encounter: It was a very tight game as the score suggests.

In the end, we just fell off a few crucial tackles and could get that late score to win it. It couldve gone either way in the end so it was unfortunate not to get the second win.

Scotland 7s: Scott Forrest CAPTAIN, Chris Fusaro, Richie Vernon, Greig Laidlaw, Mike Adamson, James Thompson, Colin Shaw
Substitutes: Jamie Hunter for Fusaro and Scott Newlands for Vernon

SCOTLAND 7s 0  27 NEW ZEALAND 7s
Scotlands last game of day one had to be the hardest they have faced so far in the series.

Having already played two tough games, they were up against a New Zealand side that hadnt only gone unbeaten all day, but a side that had claimed the Cup title in all three preceding legs of the IRB Sevens World Series.

However, coach Stephen Gemmell explained the importance of keeping the deficit below 31 points.

He said: With that result, we have qualified for the Cup quarter-finals in day two on points difference.

France beat Wales to give us a chance of qualification so it was vital to keep the score below 31 points.

It was an outstanding effort defensively by the boys and its a great achievement to go nine consecutive Cup quarter-finals.

Scotland will play Samoa at 12:34pm today in San Diego (8:34pm GMT) in the Cup quarter-final.

Scotland 7s: Scott Forrest CAPTAIN, Chris Fusaro, Richie Vernon, Greig Laidlaw, Mike Adamson, James Thompson, Colin Shaw
Substitutes: Scott Newlands for Forrest and Ali Warnock for Adamson

Rugby sevens will return to the country of its birth, Scotland, on 31 May & 1 June for the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s, the final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series.

The Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s will feature the worlds top teams over two days of fast flowing, skilful and dynamic international rugby sevens together with a fun-packed Festival of Rugby on the back pitches, making it the not-to-be-missed event of the summer.

This article was posted on 10-Feb-2008, 18:23 by Hugh Barrow.