Scotland to play New Zealand in quarter-finals of Cape Town Sevens

Scotland will play New Zealand in the main draw quarter-finals of the Cape Town leg of the HSBC World Sevens series – as they survived a scare in their final pool match against Spain.

Scotland's Robbie Fergusson during the 24-19 defeat by France. Picture: AFP via Getty Images

Having pipped old rivals England in their opening game on Friday, the Scotland squad were brought down to earth when they lost to France on Saturday.

Tries from Sam Pecqueur and Tom Brown had given the Scots an early lead but they were pegged back and a late try from Femi Sofolarin was not enough as they went down 24-19 to Les Bleus.

Needing to beat Spain to progress – France winning the pool by beating England – the Scots failed to get a firm grip on the game despite a Pecqueur double and tries from Brown and Max McFarland, and a late try from Joan Losada left them hanging on for the 22-19 win that secured second spot.

Surprise package Ireland topped their pool and face Fiji in the quarters while France face Argentina and South Africa meet Kenya.