Initial Scotland squad named for Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s

Posted on Apr 24, 2012 in Scotland, Scottish Rugby, Sevens, smb

Scotland 7s head coach, Graham Shiel, has today named an initial squad of 18 players ahead of the Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May.

As well as opting for the core group of players who have been involved throughout the majority of the series, Shiel welcomes Edinburgh Rugby backs Jim Thompson and John Houston, as well as twins Gregor and Lewis Young from Jed-Forest and Rory Hughes from Glasgow Hawks.

Shiel said: “Being at home for the next leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series we have a bit of extra time and some extra players to assess and be involved ahead of the tournament before I decide on the final 12 players.

“We’re constantly looking to put the strongest Scotland 7s squad together that we possibly can and it’s great to have Jim Thompson and John Houston, two seasoned sevens players with experience on the circuit, joining us at this stage.

“We also welcome Gregor and Lewis Young into the squad. They are two of the most on form sevens players in the club game at the moment and they have been working very hard in training through the season with the sevens squad, it’s their first time involved but they certainly deserve their spot.

“It’s also good to have so many players who have been travelling with us for the entire season available for selection. They understand the demands of the series.”

Nearly 20,000 tickets have been snapped up for the series’ first visit to Glasgow, as fans prepare for one of the biggest weekend’s in the rugby calendar.

There are some huge match-ups in the pool stages of the Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s  with Scotland 7s taking on Wales, South Africa and Russia at 11.58am, 3.04pm and 5.53pm respectively.

Shiel continued: “We want to get the home support behind us by playing exciting attacking rugby, and to be able to win some silverware would be great for the players and supporters alike.”

The initial Scotland 7s squad for the Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s is as follows:

*Ross Miller (Glasgow Hawks), Struan Dewar (Scotland 7s), *Scott Riddell (Stewart’s Melville), Michael Fedo (Northumbria University), Rory Hughes (Glasgow Hawks), Adam Ashe (Stirling County), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Accies), Mark Robertson (Scotland 7s), Sean Kennedy (Stirling County), Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Heriot’s), Colin Gregor (Scotland 7s), Jim Thompson (Edinburgh Rugby), John Houston (Edinburgh Rugby), James Fleming (Scotland 7s), Andrew Turnbull (Scotland 7s), Byron McGuigan (Scotland 7s), *Gregor Young (Jed-Forest), *Lewis Young (Jed-Forest)

*sportscotland institute supported

Bradley calls for clinical display

Posted on Mar 2, 2012 in Glasgow, Scottish Rugby

Head coach Michael Bradley has called for a more clinical performance from his Edinburgh Rugby charges as they head to Ravenhill to face Ulster for a third straight game on the road.

Lying in wait are play-off chasing Heineken Cup quarter-finalists, Ulster, whose impressive home form has seen them lose just one of their last 18 matches at home, dating back to the visit of Treviso in December 2010.

Despite also qualifying for the last eight of Europe’s elite cup competition, Edinburgh Rugby’s form in the RaboDirect PRO12 has been a source of frustration for the side.

Bradley, said: “We’ve identified with the players that, in our recent matches at home and away, we’ve had opportunities but haven’t taken them, which you simply can’t afford to do at this level.

“In spite of that, we haven’t sought to change too much for this weekend as the same formula applies.

“We will look to continue to create those chances but we must take and finish them. If we do that then we’re capable of winning this match.

“It’s a matter of concentration for the 80 minutes, doing the basics right and taking the opportunities that present themselves.”

Bradley has named four changes to the starting line-up for the trip to Northern-Ireland.

Sep Visser, Phil Godman and John Houston come in for Chris Paterson, Gregor Hunter and the injured Jim Thompson (ankle) and take up the with wing, stand-off and centre spots respectively.

Their introduction means Tom Brown reverts to his favoured full-back position and Matt Scott moves to outside-centre to accommodate the incoming Visser and Houston.

Argentine cap Ulises Gamboa is the only change up front as he earns his first start for the club in place of Jack Gilding, who moves to the bench.

Other changes to the replacements see the return of Robin Hislop (prop) and Harry Leonard (stand-off) while lock Robert McAlpine could make his RaboDirect PRO12 debut if called upon.

Edinburgh Rugby team to play Ulster at Ravenhill in the RaboDirect PRO12 on Friday 12 March (kick-off 7.05pm): 15 Tom Brown; 14 Sep Visser ,13 Matt Scott, 12 John Houston, 11 Tim Visser; 10 Phil Godman, 9 Chris Leck; 1 Kyle Traynor, 2 Andrew Kelly, 3 Ulises Gamboa, 4 Grant Gilchrist 5 Sean Cox, 6 Stuart McInally, 7 Roddy Grant CAPTAIN, 8 Netani Talei

Substitutes: 16 Alun Walker, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Jack Gilding, 19 Robert McAlpine, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Alex Black, 22 Harry Leonard, 23 Chris Paterson

Unavailable through injury: Ben Cairns (knee), James King (groin), Steven Lawrie (knee), Alan MacDonald (illness), Lewis Niven (back) Jim Thompson (ankle), Steven Turnbull (ankle)
Unavailable through international duty: Mike Blair, Geoff Cross, Nick De Luca, David Denton, Ross Ford, Allan Jacobsen, Lee Jones, Greig Laidlaw, Ross Rennie

Laidlaw captains Edinburgh against Munster

Posted on Feb 18, 2010 in Rugby News

Greig Laidlaw will captain a new-look Edinburgh side for the trip to Magners League champions Munster on Friday evening (19 February, kick off 8pm, live on Setanta Ireland) and head coach Rob Moffat believes the scrum-half has the right skill-set to lead the side to a positive result.

Laidlaw, 24, signed a new two year contract with Edinburgh on Monday and has been rewarded with the captaincy for the trip to Cork to face the tournament title holders.

Moffat says that his elevation to captain was a logical choice and will lead to a seamless transition should replacement Mike Blair be introduced into the action during the game.

Moffat said: “Greig is playing consistently well and I think he is a natural leader.

“At scrum half, he is in a good position to captain the side and, with Mike on the bench, it means if we make the change then there is a straight swap.”

Laidlaw forms a half-back combination with David Blair, who makes his first appearance for Edinburgh since damaging his ankle against Bath in December.

(more…)