Wednesday, 10 March 2010

The Scotland 7s squad to compete at the next leg of the IRB Sevens World Series in Adelaide (19-21 March) was announced today.
Head coach Stephen Gemmell is buoyed by the return of Heriot's stand-off Rory Hutton from injury following his exploits for Edinburgh in the Magners League.
Speaking from the team's training camp in Glasgow, Gemmell expressed his delight at being able to select the Hawick born playmaker.
"Rory's been out of action since he performed so well for Edinburgh therefore it's great to welcome him back. He brings a great attacking threat to our game," Gemmell said.
Four players will get their first taste of international rugby sevens in Adelaide - Lewis Calder (London Scottish), Ross Curle (Ayr), Michael Fedo (Watsonians) and Pat MacArthur (Glasgow Warriors).
Gemmell said of the debutants: "There's a massive opportunity for these players to step up to the international stage once again having represented their country at age-grade level.
"Lewis has captained Scotland U20 whilst Michael Fedo played at U19 level last year. Ross Curle is another U19 internationalist and gained professional experience with Viadana in Italy.
"Then we have Pat MacArthur who is yet another player who has performed consistently well for his domestic club whilst also bringing his professional experience with Glasgow Warriors to the table."
Although the new faces have yet to play on the international sevens stage, they do come with experience of the abbreviated game and Gemmell has taken note as part of his selection process.
The Scotland 7s squad are currently in the midst of an intensive training camp in Glasgow in a bid to not only take a fresh approach to their preparations, but to boost the profile of the sport in the city. Various community activities are being undertaken in partnership with Culture & Sport Glasgow as part of the Glasgow 2014 Legacy Fund.
On Monday this week, Gemmell took a Glasgow U16 sevens rugby session at Hughenden with players from local clubs Hillhead/Jordanhill, Glasgow Hawks, Cartha Queen's Park, West of Scotland, Hamilton as well as school players from around the city.
Today saw the squad assist with a primary school rugby festival in the west end before travelling to the east end to help with coaching sessions at St Mark's Primary and St Timothy's Primary.
A captain will be selected once the squad is in Adelaide. The Scotland 7s squad will be reviewed following the Adelaide tournament as they seek to continuously improve ahead of the following week's event in Hong Kong.
Scotland 7s squad to compete at the IRB Sevens World Series event in Adelaide (19-21 March): Lewis Calder (London Scottish), Struan Dewar (Heriot's)**, Michael Fedo (Watsonians), Pat MacArthur (Glasgow Warriors), Colin Shaw*, Mike Adamson*, Ross Curle (Ayr), Rory Hutton (Heriot's)**, Peter Jericevich (Glasgow Hawks)**, Lee Jones (Selkirk)**, Chris Kinloch (Glasgow Warriors), Andrew Turnbull (Edinburgh)

This article was posted on 10-Mar-2010, 19:38 by Hugh Barrow.