SCOTLAND may have lost the Calcutta Cup back south of the Border this year, but the sevens team has a chance to restore some pride when they meet England in the opening tie of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens at the end of next month.
Capping a hectic May at Murrayfield, the IRB World Sevens Series on 30/31 May again concludes in the Scottish capital with the SRU hoping that the title is not decided at the preceding Twickenham event.
The Scots have struggled on this year's cir
cuit and the draw made yesterday for their home tournament reflects this, Stevie Gemmell's side being pitched in the bottom group of seeds.
That has thrown up a meeting with England, who won the Wellington leg of the series, in their first tie and then Kenya, the stunning winners in Adelaide, and currently sixth in the world rankings. The Scots finish against Canada, who gave them a mighty thumping in the World Cup Sevens in Dubai this year.
Gemmell, the Scotland coach, is hopeful of securing some top names for his team at Murrayfield and believes the home crowd can lift his side to the kind of display that saw them beat South Africa in 2007 and Fiji last year for the first time.
He said: "It's very special to play at home. We've shown in the past through performances and results the difference it can make when the Murrayfield crowd is behind us, but it's up to us to give the supporters something to shout about.
"You can't take away from the passion involved in a Scotland v England match, but it's also our first game of the day and we need to put in a performance in order to build momentum for the games against Kenya and Canada.
"Kenya have really professionalised their structure as they see sevens as an opportunity to compete at the top table of international rugby. Sevens suits their players as they're powerful, athletic and very quick, and their tactical improvements over the last three years have come through increased professionalism. If you make a mistake against them you will be punished.
"As for Canada, we didn't perform in the World Cup against them and that hurt me as a coach and it hurt the players, but this is an opportunity to show we're better than that result, and I believe that if we perform well then we can beat Canada."
According to Scott Forrest, who is back from a long-term injury and certain to play, the Scotland v England match will be a highlight, stoking the same passions as any meeting of the neighbours in the game's longer format. But he accepts that Scotland face a tough challenge to reach the cup quarter-finals.
He said: "Obviously when I first saw the draw the opener against England stood out – not many people get to play England at Murrayfield – and playing at home can make a big difference.
"Two years ago we topped the group, beating South Africa for the first time, and last year we qualified from a group that featured South Africa, Australia and Argentina before going on to beat Fiji in the Plate semi-final.
"The England game definitely sticks out as the big match of day one, but if we can get the right squad together it's definitely a match we can win at Murrayfield with the crowd behind us.
"Kenya are a team obviously on the up, the squad have been together for about three or four years now and more people are starting to recognise that they're a very strong side.
"We've always had close games with Kenya. They're used to throwing a lot of guys into contact and getting the ball back. They're a unique side in that all seven players can sprint the full length of the pitch at serious pace."
The full article contains 652 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
