At the end of a week of intense preparations in advance of the next two legs of the IRB Sevens World Series - in Hong Kong (27-29 March) and Adelaide (3-5 April) - Scotland 7s coach Stephen Gemmell and captain Scott Forrest brought the Rugby World Cup Sevens Plate trophy to the host city of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and their hometown, Glasgow.

“For Glasgow to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games is massive for everyone - the players, athletes, coaches, spectators and the wider Scottish public,” said Gemmell.

“It’s great that rugby sevens is a core sport at the Games. It gives a Scotland team the opportunity to compete in a multi-sport event and is a fantastic opportunity for the Scottish public to see some top class rugby in a completely different context.

“I’m delighted the Games are coming to my hometown because I’ve seen the city show great support for sport over the years, so it’s a fitting reward.”

Councillor Archie Graham, Executive Member for Commonwealth Games delivery at Glasgow City Council, added: “It was a pleasure to meet Stephen and Scott this morning as they brought the Plate trophy from the Rugby World Cup to their home city and that of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
 
“I wish them the very best of luck for the remainder of the IRB Sevens World Series and hope to see a successful Scotland 7s side in action in Glasgow when the Commonwealth Games get underway in this fantastic city.”

Scotland beat Australia 21-17 in the Plate final at the pinnacle event in the world sevens game just two weeks ago and will be in action on home soil at the final event of the IRB Sevens World Series - the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival.

Looking forward to competing at Scotland’s home tournament on 30 and 31 May, Gemmell added: “The World Cup was the focus of the first half of our season, but every year we have the honour of looking forward to playing at our home tournament in May.

“We’ve performed to a high level in the first two years of the Edinburgh event and have claimed some notable wins. We must continue to show the Scottish public the style and brand of rugby we are capable of.

“The World Cup has given us a fantastic platform to continue our improvement and the big advantage of rugby sevens is that we get another opportunity to rise to the challenge next weekend in Hong Kong. The players need to perform every time they pull on a Scotland 7s jersey and shoulder the responsibility that goes with it.”

Gemmell dwelled briefly on the Scots’ start to the World Cup, but admits it’s now in the past and the squad must now push on to better things at the second half of the World Series gets underway.

“We started our World Cup campaign with a disappointing defeat to Canada, but at international level, you can’t afford to dwell on the past so it was encouraging how the players responded to finish off with three good wins over France, Portugal and Australia. We set a benchmark on the last day of the competition and we now need to kick on from there as we look ahead to the remainder of the season which finishes at Murrayfield.

“Hong Kong is a massive tournament but everyone involved with squad knows we need to start at the level at which we finished in Dubai.”

Meanwhile, Scotland have been forced to make two changes to the squad for Hong Kong and Adelaide.

Mike Adamson (groin) is replaced by Boroughmuir’s Tom Bury, whilst Selkirk’s Alex Dunbar comes in for Rory Hutton (shin).

Hong Kong Pool F: Kenya, USA, Scotland, West Indies

Scotland 7s’ Pool F fixtures at the IRB Hong Kong Sevens (27-29 March):
Day 1 – Scotland v USA, kick-off 7:10pm HKT, 11:10am GMT
Day 2 – Kenya v Scotland, kick-off 12:42pm HKT, 4:42am GMT
Day 2 – Scotland v West Indies, kick-off 2:54pm HKT, 6:54am GMT

Adelaide Pool B: Argentina, Fiji, France, Scotland

Scotland 7s’ Pool B fixtures at the IRB Adelaide Sevens (3-5 April):
Day 1 – Fiji v Scotland, kick-off 6:58pm CST, 7:58am GMT
Day 2 – Argentina v Scotland, kick-off 1:43pm CST, 2:43am GMT
Day 2 – France v Scotland, kick-off 4:10pm CST, 5:10am GMT

Scotland 7s squad (sponsor Murray) to compete at the IRB Sevens World Series events in Hong Kong (27-29 March) and Adelaide (3-5 April): Scott Forrest (Ayr)* CAPTAIN, Tom Bury (Boroughmuir)**, Alex Dunbar (Selkirk)*, Andrew Easson (Edinburgh), Roddy Grant (West of Scotland)*, Graham Hogg (Hawick)*, Jamie Hunter (West of Scotland)*, Chris Kinloch (Glasgow Warriors), Calum MacRae (Edinburgh), Hefin O’Hare (Glasgow Warriors), Scott Riddell (Blaydon), Jim Thompson (Edinburgh)

* = Member of Scottish Rugby’s Contracted National Academy
** = Member of Scottish Rugby’s Area Institute Supported National Academy

THE EMIRATES AIRLINE EDINBURGH SEVENS FESTIVAL

The Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival 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 for each day of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival - priced at £15 for adults, £10 for students and senior citizens and £5 for under 18s – are available to purchase by logging onto www.scottishrugbytickets.com, by calling the Ticket Hotline on 0131 346 5100 (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday) or in person from the Murrayfield Ticket Centre (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday).