BOWL FINAL: Scotland v Russia
Scotland lifted their first piece of the silverware with a convincing 26-0 win over Russia in the Bowl final of the Emirates.
The Scots got off to a great start with their first of four tries coming from Andrew Skeen who converted his own score after two minutes before continuing his excellent kicking record by adding the extras to a Dougie Fife score after the siren which Scotland 14-0 up with the last touch of the half.
HALF TIME: 14-0
Scotland came out on song in the second half and after three minutes Scott Riddell scored an unconverted try to further distance the side from the Russians before West of Scotland’s Graham Fisken scored Scotland’s fourth and final try.
Skeen slotted the kick in the sixth minute to end the scoring in the one side affair to see Scotland lift their first piece of silverware in the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series and secure four series points.
FULL TIME: 26-0
 
BOWL SEMI-FINAL: Scotland 14-10 Portugal
Scotland will take on their Dubai 7s pool opponents Russia in the final of the Emirates Airline South Africa 7s Bowl after beating Portugal 14-10 in the semis.
Conversions were once again the crucial factor in the tie, with both sides scoring two a piece.
Uncharacteristically for the shortened game, the two well-matched teams cancelled each other out for the majority of the first-half until Selkirk’s Fraser Harkness crossed for Scotland’s first after six minutes.
Andrew Skeen’s conversion meant Scotland were 7-0 up at the break.
HALF TIME: Scotland 7-0 Portugal
Portugal came out flying after the interval and put through Sergio Franco to score within the first minute of their return.
Pedro Leal’s missed conversion meant Scotland still had the edge but it would take another score to ease the nerves of the Scottish support, 7-5.
Fortunately that relief came in the form of a converted Struan Dewar try.
Skeen’s conversion meant that when Aderito Esteves’ crossed for his eight minute score, the tie was out of Portugal’s reach and Scotland had earned their first chance to play for silverware in the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series.
FULL TIME: 14-10
BOWL QUARTER-FINAL: Scotland 14-5 Namibia
Scotland 7s matched last weekend’s efforts in Dubai by booking their place in a South Africa 7s Bowl semi-final with Portugal with a 14-5 win over Namibia.
Despite being eventual victors, the Scots were the first to concede in the sticky tie, with Attie Du Plessis crossing for the unconverted score.
Conversions are often crucial in both XV and seven-a-side rugby and, when James Fleming scored the equalising try, it was Andrew Skeen’s boot who gave the lead seconds before the interval.
HALF TIME: 7-5
With the match so tight the next score would clearly be crucial. Thankfully for Scotland the prolific Fleming continued his rich scoring form by completing his brace just one minute after returning to the field.
Skeen’s conversion was the last score of the half which meant Scotland were through to the semis where the will take on Portugal for the right to play for silverware in the final.
FULL TIME: 14-5
After the opening two tournaments, the eight-event HSBC Sevens World Series will break until February before taking its unique brand of entertainment to New Zealand, USA, Hong Kong, Australia, England and Scotland, climaxing at Murrayfield on 28-29 May 2011.
Scotland 7s squad:
David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby/Hawick), Struan Dewar (Edinburgh Rugby elite development/Heriot’s), Michael Fedo (Team Northumbria), Dougie Fife (Currie), Graham Fisken (West of Scotland), James Fleming (Glasgow Warriors/Dundee), Fraser Harkness (Selkirk), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors/Dundee), James Johnstone (Glasgow Warriors elite development/Currie), Scott Riddell (Stewart’s Melville), Ross Samson (Edinburgh Rugby/Boroughmuir), Andrew Skeen (Watsonians)
FOR PLAYER PROFILES OF THE SCOTLAND 7s SQUAD PLEASE VISIT WWW.SCOTLANDRUGBYTEAM.ORG
EMIRATES AIRLINE SOUTH AFRICA 7S
POOL A: Australia, Scotland, Wales, France
POOL B: Samoa, Fiji, USA, Namibia
POOL C: New Zealand, England, Kenya, Russia
POOL D: South Africa, Argentina, Portugal, Zimbabwe
2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series schedule
Dubai, UAE – 3-4 December 2010
George, South Africa – 10-11 December 2010
Wellington, New Zealand – 4-5 February 2011
Las Vegas, USA – 12-13 February 2011
Hong Kong – 25-27 March 2011
Adelaide, Australia – 2-3 April 2011
London, England – 21-22 May 2011
Edinburgh, Scotland – 28-29 May 2011

This article was posted on 11-Dec-2010, 18:02 by Hugh Barrow.