Rugby sevens: Scots need to start well, says Andy Robinson

Scotland 7s, coached by Graham Shiel, are in Pool D alongside Wales, South Africa and Russia and their first game is against their Six Nations rivals Wales, just before noon on Saturday.

Robinson said: “The most important thing is that the [Scotland] team play for the whole 15 minutes in each tie. If they do that, they’ll undoubtedly be able to qualify for the next stage and that will be a huge achievement for the squad.

“It’s about how you start. Get a good start and get off to a great performance against Wales then that will help Scotland gather momentum and, with any run, it’s about getting that momentum.”

Robinson also stressed that Scotland have often saved their best until their home tournament in past years on the HSBC 7s World Series.

“If you look at what has happened at Murrayfield at the sevens over the last couple of years, the team have really performed well on home soil. With the experience that’s being brought back in, with Jim Thompson and John Houston added to the squad, I think it will really give the team confidence and give some of the younger players that little bit of confidence that they know they have players around them that have reached some real highs in sevens.”

Scotland continued in the bright sunshine yesterday, with a joint training session with France. The teams ran through some set plays together, taking turns to attack and defend against each other at the Glasgow University Sports complex at Garscube.

It was a chance for both teams to see where their preparations were at and, for full-back Thompson, a first blow out back in the abbreviated game. He said: “It was good to have a go at the sevens way against another team, so it was a very worthwhile exercise. It’s enjoyable being back playing the abbreviated game and there is a really good bunch of boys in the squad who are all looking forward to playing at Scotstoun.”