Auld Enemy clash for Scots Sevens

Published on Monday 12 October 2009 22:56

THE Scotland Sevens team have been handed a testing draw for the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens which takes place in George on 11 and 12 December. The Scots will play Argentina in the first game of day one before lining up against Tunisia and ending their day-one campaign against England.

The last time Scotland faced England was in the opening game of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens at Murrayfield back in May. In soaring heat at Murrayfield, Scotland scorched to a 33-17 win and will now hope to rediscover some of that performance in South Africa.

Speaking shortly after the team's return from a training camp in Delhi, where they were not only preparing for the IRB Sevens World Series, but familiarising themselves with the weather conditions and surroundings ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, coach Stephen Gemmell said: "The draw just illustrates the nature of international sevens. It not only shows how well we performed in London and Edinburgh, but reflects on how competitive the World Series is. Both England and Argentina won tournament titles last year so it's an indicator of how far we've come to be top seeds for this tournament."

The draw for South Africa is based on performances from the last two tournaments to be played – in London and Edinburgh. But despite the Scots enjoying their first-ever Cup semi-final places in both tournaments, a tough pool lies in wait.

"Supporters will no doubt focus on the England game," Gemmell continued, "but it's got to be just another game for us. Tunisia have been quarter- finalists in South Africa before and Argentina were runners-up at the World Cup.

"All three sides will pose three very different threats so it's key that we really impose ourselves, retain the ball and stop the opposition from playing.

"We made great progress at the end of last season and the only way for us to build on that is to take advantage of being top seeds."