Scotland 7s internationalists gathered at the Omni centre at the top of Edinburgh's Leith Walk today to kick-off the countdown to the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s (the final leg of the IRB World Sevens Series) which starts at Murrayfield at the end of May.
A huge 60-foot visual is printed across the Omni Centre and pictures a massive sevens ball smashing through the glass front to encapsulate the high octane action.
2 days! 16 Nations! 44 Matches! One great weekend!
Against a backdrop of carnival carousing, the eight-leg Series comes to a climax at the birth-place of rugby sevens, Scotland, on Saturday 29 and 30 May where 16 countries from around the world compete over two-days at Murrayfield Stadium.
Scotland 7s top try-scorer, Andrew Turnbull, said: "The Edinburgh 7s is a great opportunity to mix the elite game with a weekend-long party that takes over the stadium and all of the Murrayfield back-pitches.
"There's a great buzz around the ground and hopefully a big crowd can push us on to success in the tournament."
Fancy dress is often the order of the day as thousands of merry-makers from worldwide enjoy the international event, complemented by a massive club rugby tournament on both days, meaning the whole stadium grounds, inside and out, are taken over by sevens hysteria in the summer sunshine.
Scotland will open their Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s account against Wellington winners Fiji before taking on Adelaide finalists USA and world champions Wales on day one of the sevens (Saturday 28 May).
Currently placed third in the Series, defending Edinburgh 7s champions Fiji provide a fantastic start to Scotland 7s' Pool D action on Saturday 29 May as Scotland bid to continue the run of consecutive successes on British soil over the south-sea islanders - having beaten them 19-14 at Murrayfield in 2008, and 12-7 in London in 2009.
Tickets for the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s are available now for just £15 for adults (advance purchase offer), £10 for students and £5 for under-18s at www.edinburgh7s.com and the 24-hour ticket hotline (0844 335 3933) - tickets are also available on the day.
EMIRATES AIRLINE EDINBURGH SEVENS POOLS
POOL A
POOL B 
POOL C 
POOL C
Samoa
New Zealand
Australia
USA
Argentina
South Africa
England
Fiji
Kenya 
Russia
Canada
Wales
France
Italy
Portugal
Scotland
SCOTLAND’S DAY-ONE SCHEDULE (the full fixture schedule is available on www.edinburgh7s.com)
Fiji v Scotland (kick-off 12.09pm)
USA v Scotland (kick-off 3.13pm)
Wales v Scotland (7.01pm)

This article was posted on 6-May-2010, 17:33 by Hugh Barrow.