Rugby: Scots need support to save Edinburgh's sevens status

New Zealand may already have captured the overall crown but they are determined to put on a special showing exempt from additional pressures and, for the Scots, it will be about proving their worth both individually and as a team capable of justifying one of the precious eight slots on the sevens calendar.

Skipper Scott Riddell, from Stewart's Melville, knows that a decision could be made soon to commit Scottish players to the abbreviated game on a full-time basis and says tomorrow's event can help clinch contracts while urging fans to turn out and underline that, as the birthplace of sevens, Scotland should continue to play host when an agreement with the International Board expires shortly.

"I'd love to be part of a new professional sevens squad. I'm 25 and the players in sevens seem to be getting younger but I'm doing the best I can to stay fit for any opportunity," said Riddell, who was a late call-up to last Autumn's Commonwealth Games squad and performed so well that he quickly inherited the captaincy in the absence of regular Colin Gregor.

Gregor is now back in the squad but the captaincy stays with Riddell.

"The feeling is that as well as maintaining consistency after I led the team in Dubai, George (South Afirca], Las Vegas and London the onus is taken off Colin leaving him free to concentrate on his own game," added Riddell.

"We have got to be looking to get a quarter-final spot this weekend which is something not yet achieved this season because we haven't quite been able to finish things off.

"The Murrayfield factor can definitely help us take that one step further and get to the quarter-finals, after which who knows?

"We are going all round the world and are really well supported.

"But to come home really spurs us on to keep going.

"It's not easy out there because there is a lot of space to cover but the fans can make a big difference.

"We hope they will turn out also because it would be a real, real shame if the sevens here were lost. We invented it. The SRU are really pushing it no and there could be a professional squad next year. That is a big incentive.

"On the first day we have got to win two games out of three, it's as simple as that. But even in a pool that includes Samoa, Fiji and USA I think that is a realistic target because having pushed top teams close it is now about taking the next step and finishing off."

For at least one of the visiting Samoans an appearance on Murrayfield could prove a springboard for returning to Europe - possibly as an Edinburgh Rugby signing.

Ofisa Treviranus, a flanker in the Samoa team which lost 19-16 against Scotland in Aberdeen last November after a last-gasp penalty by Ruairdh Jackson, says: "I play rugby in Samoa all the time and our team has many home based players but I would be happy to play in Europe.

"This time I want to beat Scotland to make up for losing in the last minute at 15-a-side but they pushed us hard last week at Twickenham and we expect it will be the same again.

"It is harder to play the host team but we haven't won a tournament on this circuit and that is our aim before the season ends."

Last year's event saw Scotland claim the Fijian scalp for the first time and that fact isn't lost on the South Sea Islanders' scrum half, Nikola Matawalu, who says: "Every team wants to beat Fiji because of our sevens reputation. It is something we have to accept."

While Fiji and Samoa are the past masters the other team in Scotland's pool, USA, could be sleeping giants poised to awaken.

That's confirmed by skipper Matt Hawkins, a South African expat who moved to California eight years ago, and who believes granting rugby sevens Olympic status from 2016 can spark an explosion of interest in the abbreviated game.

"Rugby is growing in the USA. But it is a case of sit and wait as regards the extra funding that may come with involvement in the Olympics.

"A decision will be taken only after the 2012 Games and we will hopefully then be able to go full-time.

"Meantime we are well aware of what facing the host team means having gone down narrowly to England last weekend when their crowd lifted them after we got ahead."

Scotland and USA will end the opening day's ties and the honour of launching proceedings falling to defending champions New Zealand who face Russia.

Long serving skipper DJ Forbes is determined that the Kiwis will put on a show at the end of an eagerly-awaited trip which saw them make a pilgrimage to train on the pitch at Melrose where the sevens game was invented.

"This will be the first time we have won a series outright with a whole tournament and a few games to spare," says Forbes.

"That is credit to how consistent we have been and hopefully this will be the first of two world titles for New Zealand rugby in 2011 with the 15-a-side World Cup taking place in our country.

"One way we are looking at this weekend is that we are so used to playing under pressure that to finally be in position where we can go out and express ourselves can hopefully add another element."

Three men to watch this weekend . .

BILL LOTHIAN

BEN GOLLINGS: England's 31-year-old playmaker has scored most points (2628) in the history of the grand prix circuit in drawing on experience of turning out in New Zealand, Australia and Japan at 15-a-side level. That has helped put England second to New Zealand in the overall rankings.

CECIL AFRIKA: Capped by South Africa at schools and under-20 level, the 23-year-old, who has been playing stand-off or sweeper, has scored 337 points, including 36 tries - seven more than anybody else on the circuit.

OFISA TREVIRANUS: It isn't just the speedsters who catch the eye. This powerhouse Samoan forward is formidable in securing possession and, for a side that doesn't have the sparkle of last year when they took the title, he has been crucial in ensuring they score ranking points consistently.