Turnbull scores Scotland's third

The Scots endured an early scare but ran in two tries, from wing Lee Jones, to Canada’s one in the first-half.

A wonderful second-half try from Andrew Turnbull put some breathing space between the sides but two late tries from the Canadians ensured a tense end to the match.

Scotland head coach, Stephen Gemmell, said: “We’ve achieved what we set out to do. All our preparation has been geared towards winning these two games and getting that quarter-final place.
 
“There are three medals up for grabs and Scotland is one of only eight teams that can win one.”

Scotland were clearly opting for a more patient approach to their play early on but put pressure on themselves when a long pass from Jones just avoided a Canadian interception as Scotland knocked on.

The Canadians powered forward to the try-line from the resulting scrum and Scotland needed a superb try-saving tackle from stand-off Mike Adamson, which saw the ball spilled inches from the deck in the in-goal area, to keep the Canadians at bay.

From the try-line Scotland battered into the resolute Canadian defense until Turnbull got sight of the slightest of gaps and broke free up to half-way.

Turnbull then handed off the last tackler and offloaded to the supporting Lee Jones who was clean though to score.

Adamson converted, 7-0.

Scotland continued their pressure with a good restart and won a penalty from the resulting contact area.

Scott Newlands took it quick and, with little on, sent the ball out to Jones who set off on an long arcing run out wide, rounding the last man to score a great solo try.

Adamson’s conversion attempt rebounded off the post, 12-0.

Disappointing for Scotland was that they couldn’t see out the rest of the half without conceding, as Canada’s direct approach saw them crash over for the converted score, seconds after the half-time siren, 12-7.

HALF TIME: 12-7

The second-half began with lots of aggression shown in contact from both teams before the ball found the hands of Turnbull once more.

Fantastic footwork saw the pocket rocket dance between three defenders in close quarters at the near-side touchline to break free and sprint in under the posts.

Adamson added the extras once more, 19-7.

Despite the breathing space in the score Scotland had to endure a nervy end to the match as Canada fought back with two tries in quick succession.

The first came from an overlap created out wide and the second from the resulting restart.

Fortunately, with the tries forced out wide, both conversion attempts were missed and the Scots won the right to compete for a medal in the day-two knockout stage, with New Zealand still to play to determine pool winners and quarter-final oponents.

FULL TIME: 19-7

Scotland 7s team v Canada
Colin Shaw, Scott Forest, Scott Riddell, Lee Jones, Mike Adamson, John Houston, Andrew Turnbull

Scotland 7s 12-man squad
Mike Adamson, Alex Blair, Scott Forrest, Chris Fusaro, John Houston, Lee Jones, Stuart McInally, Scott Newlands, Hefin O'Hare, Colin Shaw, Andrew Turnbull, Scott Riddell

COMMONWEALTH GAMES, RUGBY SEVENS POOLS (ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL, Delhi is 4 hours 30mins ahead of BST)
Pool A: Canada, Guyana, New Zealand, Scotland
Pool B: India, South Africa, Tonga, Wales
Pool C: Kenya, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa
Pool D: Australia, England, Sri Lanka, Uganda

DAY ONE: Monday 11 October
Scotland 26-0 Guyana
Scotland 19-17 Canada
5.32pm - New Zealand v Scotland

DAY TWO: Tuesday 12 October
9am (match 25) - Bowl Quarter-final - 3rd Pool A v 4th Pool B
9.22am (match 26) - Bowl Quarter-final - 3rd Pool D v 4th Pool C
9.44am (match 27) - Bowl Quarter-final - 3rd Pool C v 4th Pool D
10.06am (match 28) - Bowl Quarter-final - 3rd Pool B v 4th Pool A
10.38am (match 29) - Cup Quarter-final - 1st Pool A v 2nd Pool B
11am (match 30) - Cup Quarter-final - 1st Pool D v 2nd Pool C
11.22am (match 31) - Cup Quarter-final - 1st Pool C v 2nd Pool D
11.44am (match 32) - Cup Quarter-final - 1st Pool B v 2nd Pool A

1pm (match 33) - Bowl Semi-final - Winner Match 25 v Winner Match 26
1.22pm (match 34) - Bowl Semi-final - Winner Match 27 v Winner Match 28
1.44pm (match 35) - Plate Semi-final - Loser Match 29 v Loser Match 30
2.06pm (match 36) - Plate Semi-final - Loser Match 31 v Loser Match 32
2.28pm (match 37) - Cup Semi-final - Winner Match 29 v Winner Match 30
2.50pm (match 38) - Cup Semi-final - Winner Match 31 v Winner Match 32
3.22pm (match 39) - Bowl Final - Winner Match 33 v Winner Match 34
3.50pm (match 40) - Plate Final - Winner Match 35 v Winner Match 36

4.20pm (match 41) - Bronze Medal Match - Loser Match 37 v Loser Match 38
4.45pm (match 42) - Gold Medal Match (Cup final) - Winner Match 37 v Winner Match 38

5.25pm - Medal Ceremony

Rugby Sevens is one of ten core sports at the Commonwealth Games and made its debut in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, but Manchester in 2002 was the first occasion Scotland competed. Now an approved Olympic Sport, included in the 2016 Games, sevens takes on an even greater significance as part of the Commonwealth Games.