Scotland Sevens side confident for Hong Kong opener

Published on 22/03/2013 00:27

After reaching the Cup quarter-finals in the last two rounds of the HSBC Sevens World Series, in Wellington and Las Vegas, the Scotland Sevens side go into today’s opening match of the Hong Kong Sevens against Portugal relishing the opportunity to build on their recent form as they seek to avoid relegation from the elite tier.

The team are currently 12th in the HSBC Sevens World Series standings, a position they must improve or maintain in the next three tournaments, to avoid dropping into a relegation competition in London. Preparations have gone well, with the 18-man squad enjoying a good “hit-out” with Canada.

Mark Robertson, one of the Scotland squad, said: “We had 18 players training in our first three sessions in Hong Kong and that meant we could do full contact and game scenarios, which was valuable. We also had a really good hit-out with Canada, one of the best we’ve had this season, which shows how well our preparations have gone.

“We open against Portugal and we know they will be a tough opponent. However, if we impose our own game they won’t be able to cope with us and we’ll win.”

Scotland open against Portugal at 9.28am UK time. They play their other group matches tomorrow at 2.28am (v Samoa) and 11.16am (v England).

SCOTLAND SQUAD

To compete in the Hong Kong Sevens, today (v Portugal, 9:28am UK time) and tomorrow (v Samoa, 2:28am, and England, 11:16am):

Andrew Turnbull

Chris Dean

Colin Gregor

Colin Shaw

Darren Gillespie

James Fleming

James Johnstone

Mark Robertson

Michael Fedo

Michael Maltman

Russell Weir

Struan Dewar