French fry Scotland in Gold Coast Sevens

Scotland 7s bowed out in the Bowl semi-finals in the Gold Coast Sevens, losing heavily 26-0 to France.

Tofatuimoana Solia of Samoa is tackled by Osea Kolinisau of Fiji during the final. Picture: Getty Images

They opened day two of the first round of World Series opener with a 24-12 win over American Samoa, but came unstuck against France.

For head coach Calum MacRae, the tournament has underlined improvements that need to be made ahead of the next rounds in Dubai and Port Elizabeth in December. He said: “Some of the new systems we have been working on have now been tested in competition and we will put in some hard work between now and Dubai to improve.

“In the American Samoa tie, when we controlled possession we were effective and the tries we scored were testament to that. Against France we were in good defensive shape but failed to make our first-up tackles on their main strike runners. The tackle contest was also an area of the game where they had the edge on us, which afforded them long periods in possession.

“Going forward we need to back-up our positive actions and cut out our individual errors.”

Fiji’s Jasa Veremalua scored a try in the corner to seal a 31-24 win over Samoa in the final, the first leg of the World Sevens Series which counts as a qualifier for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Fijians raced into a 24-0 lead after four first-half tries only for the Samoans to storm back to within two points in a pulsating finale before Veremalau put the game out of reach with his late score.

The victory put the Fijians, 2005-06 Series winners, on top of the table with 22 points, with the top four teams at the end of the season qualifying automatically for rugby’s return to the Olympics.

The Fijians are one of the sport’s traditional powerhouses, with their tall, powerful athletes entertaining fans around the world with their deft skills. “Everyone in Fiji expects us to win a gold medal,” Fiji’s English coach Ben Ryan said.

New Zealand, who have won 12 of the 15 World Sevens Series events, finished a surprising fifth in Australia after being knocked out by England in the quarter-finals.