Scotland 7s head coach Graham Shiel has today named a squad of 16 players to travel to Hong Kong for the sixth leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series, which kicks-off on Friday 23 March. The announcement comes just under two months out of the Emirates Airline Glasgow Sevens on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May. 
Twelve of the players will be involved with the official Cathay Pacific Hong Kong 7s, with the other four joining up with leading players from Hong Kong Scottish and other Hong Kong clubs to form the Scottish Barbarians, who will compete in the GFI HKFC Tens tournament on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 March.
 
Shiel said: "This is our strongest team to date; everyone has merited inclusion in the squad. The youngsters involved have all had good seasons both in sevens and in their club games and the 10s players are all performing well and challenging for places.
“Having an extra four players travelling is a new opportunity for us, with the chance to play against some huge names on the world stage and to experience a new challenge. It’s also a safety net if we suffer any injuries.
“We’re delighted to welcome Mark Robertson back from injury, he has been training hard and we look forward to see him bring his wealth of experience into the fray.
“Our aim remains reaching a Cup quarter-final for the first time. With the slightly different Hong Kong structure there is a big challenge ahead as every game has a massive bearing on the final outcome. There are improvements we must make in order to be as competitive as we can be. We must earn possession from the kick-off as often as possible and increase our threat in attack.”
The Scotland 7s players to compete in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong 7s (Friday 23 – Sunday 25 March) are: Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Accies), Adam Ashe (Stirling County), *Mark Cairns (Currie), Michael Fedo (Team Northumbria), *Ross Miller (Glasgow Hawks), Mark Robertson (Scotland 7s) Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Heriot’s), Sean Kennedy (Stirling County), Colin Gregor (Scotland 7s), Byron McGuigan (Scotland 7s), James Fleming (Scotland 7s) and Andrew Turnbull (Scotland 7s).
The additional 10s players to compete in the GFI HKFC Tens (Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 March) are: Rory Hughes (GHA), *Fraser Harkness (Selkirk), *Greig Ryan (Aberdeen Grammar) and Kerr Gossman (Glasgow Hawks).
 (*sportscotland institute supported player)
As well as their involvement in the two tournaments the players will travel to Hong Kong on Thursday 15 March, just over a week early, to assist with community visits and rugby sessions in partnership with Hong Kong Scottish and the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union.
They will visit the Flying Kukris Youth Club, Sarah Roe Jockey Club School and the Diocesan Boys School, as well as getting involved with a rugby clinic at the Repulse Bay Beach Rugby tournament and much more.
Shiel continued: “This is a good opportunity and challenge for the players to get involved with community work around a tournament which already has such substance and excitement.
“It’s a chance for us to build on Scottish Rugby’s partnership with the Hong Kong RFU and Hong Kong Scottish and to bring back ideas for the Glasgow 7s in May.
“Community work goes hand-in-hand with professional rugby. It’s really positive for us because it means we can start to build the brand of international rugby sevens.
“It will definitely add a different flavour to the trip.”
For the community side of the trip Scottish Rugby’s President Ian McLauchlan will join the party.
The draw for the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens is as follows:
Pool A: Samoa, England, Argentina Kenya
Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Wales, United States
Pool C: Fiji, Australia, France, Scotland
Pool D: Tonga, Uruguay, Hong Kong, China
Pool E: Canada, Spain, Zimbabwe, Phillippines
Pool F: Portugal, Russia, Japan, Guyana
Scotland 7s will play Fiji on Friday 23 March at 5.06pm (local time), Australia on Saturday 24 March at 10.36 (local time) and France on the Saturday at 3.44pm (local time).
2012 GFI HKFC Tens
Hong Kong Football Club, March 21-22
Pool A: BGC Asia Pacific Barbarians, Hill & Associates Scottish Barbarians, Irish Vikings, Playmore’s Shanghai Devils
Pool B: HSBC Penguins, International Panthers, HKRFU Chairman’s X, China Agricultural University
Pool C: SRC Borneo Eagles, New Zealand Legends, Lloyd McDermott Foundation, Hong Kong Football Club
Pool D: Samurai International, Tag Heuer Eyewear Pyrenees, Australian Country Invitational, Overseas Old Boys
Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s tickets on sale now:
The Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s is the penultimate leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series and will take place at Scotstoun Stadium for the first time this year on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May.
Early Bird tickets for the Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s are on sale now at the price of just £10 for those who buy before the end of the RBS 6 Nations (17 March). All concessions are at half the equivalent adult price.  Tickets will be sold for particular stands and designated days, with two-day ‘weekend’ tickets also available. Click here to buy your tickets now.
 
For more information on the tournament and for the latest news on Scotland 7s visit www.glasgow7s.com and follow us on Twitter @Glasgow7s.
The Emirates Airline Glasgow7s is part of the HSBC Sevens World Series.  The event, led by Scottish Rugby, is a partnership with Glasgow Life, Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Government and EventScotland with the assistance of sportscotland and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.
The HSBC Sevens World Series is a globally recognised event featuring 16 international teams and visiting cities across the world.
Glasgow joins Adelaide, Dubai, Port Elizabeth, Wellington, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and London in hosting the competition between 2012 and 2014.
Scotstoun Stadium will host 30,000 fans over two days of competition in the penultimate leg of the series.
Glasgow is the host city of the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and the IRB Series is a key part in creating a legacy for the games. 
For more information about Event Team Scotland or to register please visit www.eventteamscotland.org.

This article was posted on 8-Mar-2012, 14:59 by Hugh Barrow.