Scotland Sevens coach Stephen Gemmell and captain Scott Forrest have called upon their fans to show the ultimate support for the team and attend the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival on 30-31 May, where the hosts face a tough pool.
The Scots are yet to register a Series point this season and face second-ranked England, sixth-ranked Kenya and Hong Kong Plate winners Canada.
However, they performed heroics on home soil last year, reaching the Cup quarters and then the Plate final, in front of their home support.
“It’s very special to play at home," said Scotland Sevens coach Stephen Gemmell. "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.
Forrest: "Not many play England at Murrayfield"
Scotland captain Scott Forrest, added: “Obviously when I first saw the draw the opener against England stood out. Not many people get to play England at Murrayfield.
“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 – especially at Murrayfield with the crowd behind us.
“Kenya are a team that are obviously on the up, the squad has been together for about three of 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.”
Gemmell agrees that the sixth-ranked side in the world poses a real danger to Scotland.
“Kenya have really professionalised their structure as they see Sevens as an opportunity to compete at the top table of international rugby.
Gemmell: "Kenya will punish mistakes"
“Sevens suits their players as they’re powerful, athletic and very quick, and their tactical improvements over the last three years have come through their increased professionalism.
“If you make a mistake against them you will be punished.”
Scotland complete day one’s matches against dangerous Hong Kong Plate winners Canada, who currently lie four places above them in the Series. The match will be the sides' first meeting since Scotland’s 33-14 loss to the Canadians in the opening match of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai.
“I think the World Cup loss would have come as a bit of a shock to some supporters. We were disappointed with our performance in that match and are keen to set the record straight”, said Forrest.
Gemmell added: “We didn’t perform in the World Cup against Canada and that hurts me as a coach and it hurts 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.
“Hopefully the third game will be an important one because if we want to qualify for the cup from this group we need to win at least two out of the three games.”
Tickets
Supporters are encouraged to take advantage of the advance purchase ticket offer which includes a £35 family ticket for two adults and two children.
Advanced purchased tickets for each day of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh 7s Festival are priced at £15 for adults, £10 for students and senior citizens and £5 for under-18s. Tickets are available by logging onto www.scottishrugbytickets.com, calling the Ticket Hotline on 0871 200 1511 (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday) or in person from the Murrayfield Ticket Centre (open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday).
