Fifty days out from the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s Festival, Scotland 7s coach Stephen Gemmell admitted that player availability and home support are crucial to the side’s bid for the London and Edinburgh titles.

The eight-leg IRB World 7s comes to a climax at the birth-place of rugby sevens, Scotland, on 30 and 31 May where the 2009 World Cup Plate Champions will host 15 countries from around the world at Murrayfield Stadium.

Gemmell said: “We should take confidence from the last day of the World Cup which showed that with a strong squad we can compete with the best and I’ll be meeting with the pro team coaches soon to discuss pro player release with the view to fielding the best possible squad for the Murrayfield event.”

Gemmell explained that while the global 7s circuit is a fantastic experience for the players and management alike, the home leg is the series highlight.

“We’ve been all over the world playing 7s but it’s hugely exciting to finish the tour at home in Edinburgh – it’s great to know your series finale will be in front of your home crowd”, said Gemmell.

“Playing in two local tournaments back-to-back definitely gives you an advantage and it’s up to us to make the most of that advantage. It’s a huge boost to the home teams to be playing in front of their supporters – you only have to look at the results of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and USA.

“I’d urge fans to come out and support us; it can make a massive difference in what will be a very competitive competition.”

The abbreviated game has seen some of Scotland’s most exciting young talent come through the ranks in seasons past including Thom and Max Evans, Ben Cairns and Ross Rennie – and for those who saw Scotland’s opening 33-7 defeat of Australia and dramatic, extra-time semi-final victory over Fiji at Murrayfield last season know that the current crop is every bit as thrilling.

In addition to the 200+ matches happening over the course of the weekend, the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s Festival combines the elite 16 team tournament with a club and school 7s event on the all new back pitches – with some matches scheduled to be played in front of the Murrayfield crowd on the main pitch for the first time.

Scottish Rugby’s head of community rugby, Colin Thomson, said: “The activity on the back pitches creates such a buzz around an already vibrant international sevens event and makes the Murrayfield leg really stand out from the crowd.

“The 7s drum up great support across all age groups who come down to Murrayfield for an event which has a great carnival atmosphere and combines schools and club rugby with an elite international event.”

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