The Scotland Rugby 7s squad took to the field against India this afternoon in a warm-up match and looked confident as they overpowered the hosts in three seven minute sessions.

All 12 players made an impact on-field with Captain Scott Forrest leading by example and happy with the outcome. He said, “We played well today and didn’t give India many chances to test their attacking skills against us. Some good tries were scored and it was good for us all to get a run in the midday heat and start testing ourselves for the competition ahead.”

Scotland will face New Zealand, Canada and Guyana on the opening day to determine the cross-over matches and ultimate medal winners on day two.

Forrest continued, “We are all really looking forward to playing our three matches on the opening day of competition and see it as a huge honour to be part of Team Scotland.”
The training venue of Hindu College was in first class condition and the team are well looked after by the staff and volunteers on site. Stephen Gemmell, Scotland’s head coach reviewed the performance: “Today was important for the guys to experience match intensity at this heat because it is completely different to anything back home. India were physical and challenged us in the way the Guyana and Canada will do. If you give them the ball, they are going to be dangerous.”

While other teams in the 7s competition have opted to hold training camps in other countries before arriving in Delhi nearer competition date, Scotland wanted plenty of time to adjust to local conditions and also allow the players maximum opportunity to experience the Games.

Gemmell continued, “Our players have a lot of World Series experience but it’s now about trying to get them to as a team and being in the Village really creates the right atmosphere. We’re mixing with world-class athletes from Team Scotland and other countries and it is an unbelievable experience. Results have shown that our players perform best in familiar surroundings so the longer we have here, the better we think it will be for us.”