Our Sport Focus on Rugby 7s continues as Scotland’s men head to Los Angeles and Vancouver for the next two events in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
A 13-man Scotland squad has been named for both tournaments, led by leading points scorer and captain Robbie Fergusson, with Kyle Rowe returning to the team having missed the past two events with a shoulder injury. He is joined by Jamie Farndale who replaces Dougie Fife.
This weekend (29 Feb – 1 Mar) the series heads to Dignity Health Sports Park on the outskirts of Los Angeles, home to Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy and NFL side LA Chargers. It is the first time for the series at this venue with the USA leg having previously been held in Las Vegas.
Sitting in 12th place overall in the series standings, Scotland face a tough draw in Pool C against USA, Australia and Samoa. They face Australia and USA on Saturday before their final Pool game against Samoa on Sunday. The hosts will be looking to win their third straight title on home soil after victories in the finals at both the 2018 and 2019 events in Las Vegas, while Australia were bronze medallists in Hamilton, NZ in January.
From Los Angeles the series moves to Vancouver from 7-8 March with the draw for this event yet to be completed.
Scotland Head Coach Ciaran Beattie said: “We are delighted to get back into live action and the events are structured in a way that excites us.
“It was extremely difficult to name a final squad for these tournaments which is testament to how well the boys have trained since Sydney.
“We know USA and Australia well from recent encounters and will have to be at our best to compete with those sides, as well as a very good Samoan squad.”
Scotland 7s squad to compete in the Los Angeles and Vancouver legs of the 2019/20 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series:
- Paddy Kelly
- Ally Miller
- Alec Coombes
- Robbie Fergusson (Captain)
- Harvey Elms
- Kyle Rowe
- Jamie Farndale
- Nyle Godsmark
- Sam Pecqueur
- Gavin Lowe
- Max McFarland
- Ross McCann
- Tom Brown