Commonwealth Games: Scotland women rugby debut as Lee Jones makes fourth appearance for men

Scotland will make history at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham later this month when their women’s team enters the rugby sevens tournament for the first time.

The Scotland sevens squads for the Commonwealth Games. Picture: Craig Watson/Team Scotland

They earned their invitation after a strong performance at the 2021 Rugby Europe Sevens Championship Series, finishing fourth.

Scotland’s women’s and men’s sides will both send squads to the Games and their 13-player selections were announced on Friday.

The women’s side will be co-captained by Helen Nelson and Lisa Thomson, with the latter having represented Team GB at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo last year.

The squad is a mix of experienced sevens and 15-a-side players as well as youthful talent such as Emma Orr and Meryl Smith.

“As a team, we want to inspire the next generation of rugby players and to have the chance to compete on the global stage gives us the perfect opportunity to showcase our sport,” said Thomson.

“It’s always a privilege to pull on a Scotland jersey but to be a part of Team Scotland, alongside 17 other sports while being so close to home, it’s extra special.”

The men’s squad features Lee Jones who has been selected for his fourth Commonwealth Games having featured at Delhi 2010, Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast in 2018. It’s a remarkable achievement by the 34-year-old who was capped eight times by Scotland in the 15-a-side game.

The experienced Jamie Farndale will captain the men’s squad which includes the exciting Edinburgh academy winger Jacob Henry and Boroughmuir’s Jordan Edmunds who was called into the full Scotland squad during the Six Nations.

Although Birmingham is the host city for the Games, the rugby sevens is being staged at the 32,000-capacity Coventry Stadium - home to Wasps and Coventry City FC - from Friday July 29 to Sunday July 31.

Scotland Women: Rachel McLachlan, Emma Orr, Megan Gaffney, Eilidh Sinclair, Evie Gallagher, Lisa Thomson (co-captain), Helen Nelson (co-captain), Caity Mattinson, Chloe Rollie, Meryl Smith, Shona Campbell, Liz Musgrove, Rhona Lloyd. Head coach – Scott Forrest.

Scotland Men: Jamie Farndale (captain), Alec Coombes, Ross McCann, Grant Hughes, Paddy Kelly, Kaleem Barreto, Robbie Fergusson, Matt Davidson, Harvey Elms, Lee Jones, Jordan Edmunds, Femi Sofolarin, Jacob Henry. Head coach – Ciaran Beattie.