Scotland’s quest for a 10th consecutive Cup quarter-final in the IRB Sevens World Series has been boosted by the return of Andrew Turnbull to their squad for the next two events in Hong Kong and Adelaide.

Turnbull is no stranger to the magic surrounding the Hong Kong Sevens, having scored seven tries for Scotland to help them reach the Cup quarter-finals in the famous stadium when it staged the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2005.

“I’m really happy to be back involved with the Scotland Sevens squad,” admitted Turnbull, who also played for Scotland in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.  “I enjoyed playing Sevens when I was previously involved because it’s a fast game and it suits the way I try and play.

“The squad have done really well so far this season and I’m looking forward to helping continue that momentum as we build towards the Edinburgh Sevens at Murrayfield.”

Turnbull is one of only three changes to the 12-man squad from the last two rounds in Wellington and San Diego with National Academy players Roddy Grant and Ben Addison called up for the first time this season after recovering from injuries.

Rising to the challenge

“Andrew brings experience as well as genuine pace and a real threat out wide which will help the way we play,” said Scotland coach Stephen Gemmell, whose side lie eighth in the standings with 16 points at the halfway stage of the Series.

“We have assembled a squad of players who all have experience of international rugby sevens for the first time this season. We have retained nine players from the last two tournaments in Wellington and San Diego which gives us real continuity going into these two legs of the Series.”

Scotland have been drawn in Pool E for the Hong Kong Sevens from 28-30 March with Kenya, Portugal and China. A week later in the Australian leg they face an even tougher task with runaway Series leaders New Zealand, Argentina and the Cook Islands their opponents in Pool A at the Adelaide Oval.

“The [seeding for the] London and Edinburgh legs are dependant on results from Hong Kong and Adelaide, so the next few weeks are hugely important for us,” admitted Gemmell.

“The boys know that the challenge is to build on our consistent form and they need to meet that head on. We deserve to be a top eight team. The challenge is to push on from here and improve on our nine consecutive Cup quarter-finals and finish on a high at Murrayfield.”

Scotland squad:
Scott Forrest (Captain), Mike Adamson, Ben Addison, Chris Fusaro, Roddy Grant, Greig Laidlaw, Scott Newlands, Colin Shaw, James Thompson, Andrew Turnbull, Richie Vernon, Ali Warnock.