Scotland Sevens squad head to Paris intent on a top-ten finish

Scotland forward Scott Riddell, who has played in 47 World Sevens Series events, will bow out in Paris this weekend. Picture: Gallo Images via Getty.

The Scots, now with interim head coach Scott Forrest in charge, are currently in tenth spot on 69 points and with Canada 11th on 51 points they look likely to finish in that place, but will still want to end on a high.

On a personal level, it is a big weekend for a number of the Scots who are in the French capital.

Forward Scott Riddell brings the curtain down on an amazing Scotland career during which he has played in 74 events on the circuit over the years.

Playmaker Gavin Lowe, winning his 34th World Series cap, is currently fifth in the overall points scorers table for this term with 207 to his name and the former Ayr man will want to finish in style.

Winger Max McFarland, who has had a cracking second year at this level, will also be intent on securing a top-five place in the try scorers list. Speak to him and you might not think he is Scottish. He has a broad Irish accent and had a spell living in Russia as a youngster, but his mother is a proud Scot and he has been on fire of late.

At the moment he has 33 tries for 2018-19, while ex-Glasgow Warriors man Carlin Isles is out ahead for the USA with an amazing 49.

Ahead of the weekend, Forrest said: “Our performances improved across the weekend in London last time out with the exception of the Ireland match where we dropped our standards as a team.

“We performed well against New Zealand and England on day one, but we were not clinical enough in the contact area before this improved going into day two. The players stepped up well against Kenya and Wales and, although we performed well in parts against Samoa, we allowed them to control the tempo and individual errors cost us in the end. Overall there were a lot of positives for us to take into Paris this week and it was great to see Kyle Rowe and  Kaleem Barreto step up in their first tournament.

“It’s disappointing to lose Tom Brown and Sam Pecqueur from the group, but to be able to call on someone with Scott Riddell’s experience will give everyone in the group a real lift.

“He naturally brings a lot of energy to the group which is really important.”

At the top of the table the overall title will go right to the wire with Fiji (164 points) and the USA (162 points) battling it out for glory.

The Fijians last won the title in 2016 while the Americans have never won it.