Preview: IRB Sevens, Scotland
Fri, 30 May 2008 09:07
A first ever International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens Cup semifinal remains ever elusive for Scotland, but after the events of last weekend at Twickenham this week's hosts of the final leg are more confident than ever in their ability to make it to the final four.
The Scots led the Sevens masters of Fiji with seconds to go in their Twickenham Cup quarterfinal on Sunday, but the islanders scored at the death to deny Stephen Gemmell's side.
"We were disappointed in terms of not getting that semifinal but hugely proud of the performance," said Gemmell.
"Since we've been back in Scotland, we've had a look at it and worked at one or two things in training to try and take that next step.
"With a minute or so to go we were leading and we had the ball. We should be able to close that game out, and that's what we need to do," he added.
When the draw was announced for the Edinburgh Sevens Gemmell might have been forgiven for cursing his bad luck - his side faces South Africa, Australia and Argentina in the toughest of pools on day one - but, having run South Africa equally close in the semifinal of the London Plate, both he and the players remain bullish of their chances on home soil.
"I've always said that we are a team that can compete at the top of international Sevens, and I think London has shown that," said Gemmell.
"We pushed two of the top four teams in the world very close and we're not happy with that because we didn't get the results we wanted but we are proud of the performance.
"It we can get the crowd behind us and the players can build on the belief that they have in their game and their own individual ability then I think that we can do something here," he concluded.
It's the ideal chance for Scotland to stake their claim on their home turf. New Zealand have won the Series already and will be forgiven for taking their foot off the pedal this weekend - something that was clearly evident last week when England beat them in the Cup quarterfinals.
Gordon Tietjens' team will no doubt like to finish their magnificent campaign on a high at Murrayfield, but they will be hard pushed with so many injuries to their squad.
Blues wing David Smith has been drafted into the squad to replace Zar Lawrence, who is concentrating on the 15-man game.
Second placed South Africa (98 points), eight points clear of Fiji, have been drawn with Argentina - the team that dumped them out of the London leg just last week.
The Springboks will be looking to secure second place on the log, but a win for Fiji will leap-frog them into second place. Samoa can also overtake Paul Treu's Boks if they do well at Murrayfield.
It's a thrilling finale to the series, despite New Zealand having wrapped up the series. But South Africa, Fiji and Samoa have it all to play for this weekend at Murrayfield.
Pools:
Pool A: New Zealand, England, Russia, Portugal
Pool B: South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Scotland
Pool C: Samoa, Wales, Canada, Spain
Pool D: Fiji, Kenya, France, Moldova
Fixtures:
(Kick-off is local time - GMT +1 hour)
Day One - May 31:
Match 1: New Zealand v Russia, 09.12
Match 2: England v Portugal, 09.34
Match 3: Samoa v Canada, 09.56
Match 4: Wales v Spain, 10.18
Match 5: Fiji v France, 10.40
Match 6: Kenya v Moldova, 11.02
Match 7: South Africa v Argentina, 11.24
Match 8: Australia v Scotland, 11.46
Match 9: New Zealand v Portugal, 12.18
Match 10: England v Russia, 12.40
Match 11: Samoa v Spain, 13.02
Match 12: Wales v Canada, 13.24
Match 13:
Fiji v Moldova, 13.46
Match 14: Kenya v France, 14.08
Match 15: South Africa v Scotland, 14.30
Match 16: Australia v Argentina, 14.52
Match 17: Russia v Portugal, 15.14
Match 18: Canada v Spain, 15.36
Match 19: France v Moldova, 15.58
Match 20: New Zealand v England, 16.20
Match 21: Samoa v Wales, 16.52
Match 22: Fiji v Kenya, 17.14
Match 23: South Africa v Australia, 17.36
Match 24: Argentina v Scotland, 17.58
Day Two - June 1:
Bowl quarterfinals:
Match 25: 3rd Pool A v 4th Pool B, 10.15
Match 26: 3rd Pool D v 4th Pool C, 10.37
Match 27: 3rd Pool C v 4th Pool D, 10.59
Match 28: 3rd Pool B v 4th Pool A, 11.21
Cup quarterfinals:
Match 29: 1st Pool A v 2nd Pool B, 11.43
Match 30: 1st Pool D v 2nd Pool C, 12.05
Match 31: 1st Pool C v 2nd Pool D, 12.27
Match 32:
1st Pool B v 2nd Pool A, 12.49
Shield semifinals:
Match 33: Loser M25 v Loser M26, 13.41
Match 34: Loser M27 v Loser M28, 14.03
Bowl semifinals:
Match 35: Winner M25 v Winner M26, 14.25
Match 36: Winner M27 v Winner M28, 14.47
Plate semifinals:
Match 37: Loser M29 v Loser M30, 15.09
Match 38: Loser M31 v Loser M32, 15.31
Cup semifinals:
Match 39: Winner M29 v Winner M30, 16.08
Match 40: Winner M31 v Winner M32, 16.30
Shield Final:
Match 41: Winner M33 v Winner M34, 16.52
Bowl Final:
Match 42: Winner M35 v Winner M36, 17.20
Plate Final:
Match 43: Winner M37 v Winner M38, 17.48
Cup Final:
Match 44: Winner M39 v Winner M40, 18.16
With thanks to the IRB
