Scotland thrill home crowd at Glasgow Sevens

SCOTLAND reached their first World Series semi-final since 2009 as they exceeded all ­expectations at their home ­tournament, the Emirates ­Airlines Glasgow Sevens at ­Scotstoun ­Stadium.

Justin Geduld of South Africa is tackled by Scott Riddell during day two of the IRB Glasgow Sevens. Picture: Getty

But they couldn’t get past ­fellow giantkillers Canada who squeezed past the Scots 10-7 in a semi where both teams were vying to get to a final for the first time in their history.

It was Canada who won the honour only to be crushed under eight tries and a 54-7 scoreline, the widest margin in a final for a dozen years, by an all-powerful, all-conquring New Zealand ­who claimed their 50th tournament title.

Scotland also lost out in the ­contest for third place with Fiji edging a 17-10 victory.

Scotland did a lot more than what was expected of them by soundly beating second-ranked South Africa in the quarter-final of the cup competition, only the third time in 15 years they have managed to do so.

Scotland Sevens head coach Stephen Gemmell said: “It has been a disappointing end, losing the last two games, but I am 
massively proud of the players.

“They have stood toe to toe with the best teams in the world.”