HISTORY was made in sensational style at Twickenham yesterday as Scotland retained the HSBC London Sevens, beating New Zealand in the quarter-finals en route to a win in the final itself over host nation England. The 28-21 last-eight victory was not only the first time the Scots had beaten New Zealand on the sevens circuit, it was the first occasion that any Scottish team had defeated a New Zealand representative side at any level since the nations first met in a 15-a-side match in 1905.
The defending champions then went on to defeat the USA 21-14 in the semi-final with a late try from Jo Nayacavou, before beating England 12-7 in the final. The result of the two-day tournament was not only a significant victory in its own right, it was further vindication for everyone - supporters, officials and players - who had fought to keep a national sevens squad two years ago in the face of a move by some senior figures within Scottish Rugby to scrap it.
“I’m absolutely elated," captain Scott Riddell said before accepting the trophy. “This sport is something that just grips you. It’s so special and I’m so proud of the boys. I’m lost for words.
“We were under the pump and we just keep fighting and we took our chances. You couldn’t write a script like that.”
A Scotland victory certainly seemed an implausible outcome at half-time in the quarter-final, which saw Calum MacRae’s team trail 21-0. But they fought back with four tries in the second half to rack up a famous win, Jamie Farndale touching down with what was the last play of a game which briefly saw the New Zealanders have eight players on the field at one point.
England drew first blood in the final with a converted try from Dan Norton, and they came close to scoring again before half-time only for Hugh Blake to deny the try with some well-timed scrambled defence. Blake turned from defender into attacker with the first try of the second, playing to the whistle after England claimed the ball had been knocked on. Referee Craig Joubert said it had gone backwards and the score stood, putting Scotland level at 7-7.
With two minutes to go, the visitors took the lead through an unconverted try by Riddell after an excellent break by Scott Wight. Failure to add the two points could have been costly had England been able to hit back, but Scotland finished the contest on top.
It was the last tournament in charge of the squad for head coach MacRae, who will be Edinburgh’s defence coach next season. Wight is also moving on, to become the head coach of the national women’s sevens side, while Mark Robertson is retiring.
“It’s a fairytale,” said Robertson, a member of the Team GB squad at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio. “I’ve got a hell of a lot of pride and it’s tough to say goodbye.”
Gregor Townsend, head coach to the full Scotland side, added his own congratulations on Twitter. “So proud of the Scotland sevens team,” he wrote. “Bodies on the line for each other and their country. Congratulations to all involved, especially Calum MacRae.”
Scotland sevens starters: Scott Riddell, Dougie Fife, Hugh Blake, Mark Robertson, George Horne, Scott Wight, James Fleming. Substitutes: Grayson Hart, Glenn Bryce, Jamie Farndale, Jo Nayacavou, Jack Cuthbert.
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