The Scotland 7s team will face the current leaders of the IRB Sevens World Series at this year’s Rugby World Cup Sevens from 5-7 March.

Scotland were drawn against South Africa, Canada and Japan at the ceremony which took place at The Atlantis Hotel in Dubai.

Despite a tough draw for the Scots, coach Stephen Gemmell takes confidence from the fact that his side will play two of the three pool opponents in the remaining World Series tournaments as the build-up to the World Cup gathers pace.

“We’ve got two of our three pool teams, South Africa and Japan, over the next two tournaments in the World Series,” he said, “and having the draw in advance of these tournaments will certainly help in our preparations for the World Cup.”

Although Gemmell recognises the challenge posed by the draw, he remains positive about Scotland’s chances.

“There’s no easy Pool at the World Cup. As for our draw, we’ve got South Africa once again who are flying this year. And despite Canada not being a core team anymore, they have been before and have always performed well. Japan are another exciting team that are well suited to playing rugby sevens.”

“In the end, it’s a World Cup and we’re all looking forward to performing on this stage with confidence in our ability based on our results over the last two seasons where we have beaten some of the best teams in the world.”

The draw was carried out by Bernard Lapasset, the Chairman of Rugby World Cup Limited, with Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein and His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group.

Men’s draw for the IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai on 5-7 March
Pool A: New Zealand, Tonga, Arabian Gulf, Italy
Pool B: Fiji, France, USA, Georgia
Pool C: South Africa, Scotland, Canada, Japan
Pool D: Samoa, Australia, Portugal, Ireland
Pool E: England, Kenya, Tunisia, Hong Kong
Pool F: Argentina, Wales, Zimbabwe, Uruguay

The six pool winners and best two runners up will progress to the Melrose Cup quarter finals, the four other runners up and four best sides that finish third in their pool will contest the Plate and the remaining sides the Bowl.

The match schedule will be announced shortly.

Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s
The Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s is the eighth and final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series. It will be held at Murrayfield on 30 and 31 May 2009.

Tickets sales information will be announced shortly - log on to www.edinburgh7s.com for more information.

Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games
Rugby Sevens will be one of the showpiece events of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.