Scotland 7s' Pool D opponents, USA, were the first of the 16 international sevens teams to touchdown at Edinburgh Airport today as they prepared for the final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series - the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s - at Murrayfield this weekend (29 and 30 May).

Tickets prices per day: £15 for adults (£20 on the day), £10 for students, £5 for under-18s and £35 for a family of four (two adults, two children) from www.edinburgh7s.com or the 24-hour ticket hotline (0844 335 3933) - tickets are also available on the day.

Disruption to flights meant that Al Caravelli's men were on the move just 14 hours after reaching the London 7s Bowl semi-final to catch a flight from Gatwick, however, despite the difficulty, the American head coach was happy to arrive in Scotland's capital and the birthplace of rugby sevens, Scotland.

He said: "There are eight new players in our squad that weren't here last year but the four that remain had a wonderful experience. They were made very welcome and treated very well so they've been sharing that with the new players.

"Everyone's really looking forward to this weekend. All the teams stay in a great hotel which is right in the centre of town at the base of Edinburgh castle, so we're really looking forward to it - though I don't know if we'll get as warm a reception this year since we've got Scotland in our group, but hopefully they'll cheer us on against Wales and Fiji!

"If we can get a big crowd at Murrayfield it would be fantastic because the series is still wide open between New Zealand and Samoa, so hopefully the crowd will come out for that and show what a packed Murrayfield can be like."

The USA were quickly followed by their Canadian counterparts - who knocked them out of the semis on the way to lifting the London 7s Bowl - before two of the tournament's guest teams, Italy and Russia, arrived over lunch.

The IOC vote for rugby sevens to become part of the Olympics Games in 2016 has seen the Olympic super-power take an increased interest in the shortened game - a move underlined by their successful bid to host the 2013 Sevens World Cup.

Russia sevens internationalist, Nikolay Shugay, said: "Now that sevens is in the Olympics Games rugby participation in Russia has taken a big step up. We now have two representative sevens teams - one plays on the IRB circuit and the other in the European cup.

"This weekend we want to win but it all counts as more practice for us as a team and from tournament from tournament we grow up as a team."

Series leaders Samoa then joined Scotland on the afternoon flight followed by London 7s plate winners New Zealand, bowl finalists Portugal and plate semi-finalists Wales.

The South-Sea islanders currently lead New-Zealand in the series by eight points and play cup semi-finalists Argentina, shield winners Kenya and shield finalists France in Pool A while the Kiwis line up against reigning series champions and London 7s cup finalists South Africa, Italy and Russia in Pool B.

Of significance is that the pairing of the two groups (A and B) means that, depending on results, Samoa and New Zealand could go head to head for the Series title in the knockout stages.

Samoa head coach, Stephen Betham, said: "Unfortunately we didn't get enough points in London to take a relaxed approach to this week. We will just have to pick ourselves up and do it all over again.

"We don't have an easy pool in Edinburgh but we started to psych ourselves up on Sunday night.

"In terms of winning the Series, I wouldn't go there yet but we will try and do our best."

Finally the evening's arrivals are scheduled to feature London cup winners, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, England, France, Kenya and last, but by no means least, were Scotland's opening pool D opponents, Fiji.

 EMIRATES AIRLINE EDINBURGH SEVENS POOLS

SCOTLAND’S DAY-ONE SCHEDULE (the full fixture schedule is available on www.edinburgh7s.com)
Fiji v Scotland (kick-off 12.09pm)
USA v Scotland (kick-off 3.13pm)
Wales v Scotland (7.01pm)

The Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s is the eighth and final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series. It will be held at Murrayfield on 29 and 30 May 2010.
Tickets are available at www.edinburgh7s.com by calling the 24-hour Ticket Hotline – 0844 335 3933 or in person from the Murrayfield Ticket Centre, Gate A, Roseburn Street, Edinburgh (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday).
Rugby Sevens will be one of the showpiece events of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Ticket prices
Adult one day advance ticket - £?15 (£20 on the day)
One day student and under-18 - £10 and £5
Senior citizen one day - £10
Family one day advance ticket - £35 (two adults & two children)
All tickets are ANY DAY tickets – valid for either day of the event
Tickets for the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s are available to buy on match day

SCOTTISH RUGBY has worked extensively with event partners EventScotland and the City of Edinburgh Council, to fully promote the world-class events coming to Murrayfield and ensure that everybody attending knows what Edinburgh as a city has to offer both the resident and the visitor.