Ten years on from the inaugural IRB World Sevens Series event in Dubai, Scottish Rugby has announced that it will again host the finale of the Series at the end of May (29/30).

Last year Scotland cruised past London Sevens winners England (33-17) and Canada (16-5) on day one before seeing off Samoa in a (14-12) nail-biter on their way to their second successive semi-final slot where they suffered an agonising sudden-death defeat to newly crowned Series Champions, South Africa, on day two.

Scotland 7s head coach Stephen Gemmell, said: “It’s great news that Scotland will once again host the Series finale at the end of May.
 
“In the three years Murrayfield has hosted the final event we have seen some memorable Scotland performances, especially in this year’s semi-final against South Africa.
 
“We compete at some fantastic events on the World Series, but it’s always special for the squad to return home and play the final tournament in front of a passionate home crowd at Murrayfield.”

Over 20,000 raucous supporters arrived from all over the world for the international party at a sun-drenched Murrayfield this year and the Chief Executive of Scottish Rugby, Gordon McKie, believes that there’ll be many familiar faces at next year’s Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival.

 “The 2009 Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens was the best yet. It created the perfect finale for the IRB Sevens World Series and won international praise from supporters and players alike”, said McKie.

“The fans, the weather, the back-pitch festival and the Scotland team’s outstanding performance all came together to create a fantastic weekend of rugby and I’m sure next year’s event can be even bigger and better.

“Supporters that come along to the Sevens are guaranteed world-class fast and exciting rugby.”

Those who saw Scotland power their way to back-to-back Cup semi-finals in London and Edinburgh will know both team and tournament have every chance of repeating and surpassing this year’s success.

But it’s not all about the on-pitch action. The rugby extravaganza will again combine the elite international 16-team tournament with the extremely popular festival of rugby involving over 1000 participants on Murrayfield’s expansive back pitches.

Scottish Rugby will announce the ticket details for the event shortly. To register your interest log on to www.edinburgh7s.com.

• 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 29 and 30 May 2010.
• Rugby Sevens will be one of the showpiece events of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The IRB World Sevens Series: