Scots sevens bring back pro players

Published on 06/07/2012 00:00

Scotland 7s will play in the final leg of the Fira-Aer GP European Sevens Series this weekend in Odense, Denmark.

The Scots start against hosts Denmark (12.34pm BST) before facing Germany (3.40pm BST) and England (6.46pm BST) in Pool A tomorrow.The knockout stages begin on Sunday.

Head coach Graham Shiel has reintroduced his professional players to the squad. Also returning are the side’s top try scorers, Andrew Turnbull and James Fleming, as well as Byron McGuigan, who has been released by Glasgow Warriors and Scott Riddell, who will captain the side.

Michael Maltman and Russell Weir will also be making their Scotland 7s debuts.

Shiel said: “We have taken the opportunity to reintroduce our core players back to the abbreviated game to gain match time ahead of the Rugby World Cup qualifier in Portugal in a fortnight. It’s great to have Scott captain the side. He is one of our most experienced players and has captained the team before, in season 2010/11. He was excellent then. He has also supported Colin Gregor last season and he understands sevens implicitly.”

Scotland 7s have also secured former Glasgow Warriors winger Colin Shaw on a one-year full-time contract and have arranged with London Scottish for full-back Jim Thompson to play and train with the squad until after the World Cup qualifier.