Scotland Women 7s squad got off to a flying start under new Head Coach Scott Wight. Not only did they win the Rugby Europe Women’s Sevens Trophy, they also gained promotion to the Grand Prix competition next season.

They were unbeaten in both rounds in the Czech Republic and Hungary and cruised past the opposition to score 485 points in 12 games, while conceding just 12 points.

Wight said: “At the first tournament I started the same seven but after Hungary it showed where they are as a squad because I didn’t have the same starting seven once showing the depth of the squad.

“Before the Czech Republic I was probably more nervous than I was at the final at Twickenham. When you’re playing you’re in total control, you can make the calls, you know you’re fit whereas with coaching you’ve done all the work beforehand.”

Wight, who started working with the squad in April as Scotland 7s season came to and end, selected a mix of youth and experience for the first outing and kept the same 12 for the second round.

New caps Rhona Lloyd, Hannah Smith and Elizabeth Musgrove rose to the challenge with all three scoring on their debuts. Lloyd went on to claim top try scorer with 20 to her name.

Captained by 19-year-old Lisa Thomson (pictured right), the squad had the trophy and promotion in their sights from day one.

Wight said: “At our first day at Oriam I made it clear we were here to win. Credit to them all for stepping up.

“Credit also has to go to the wider squad of 18. My hat goes off to those girls who stuck at it after not being selected. You’ve got to appreciate the work they put in to help us progress.”

Though the team had achieved their goals, Wight said they need to push on and rise to the challenge of the next tier of sevens. “I’m really happy with where the group is now, but this is just the start of something special. The Grand Prix will be a step up. It won’t be as easy but for them but to keep improving they need to play in the next level up and test themselves in this environment.”

Returning to the Rugby Europe Grand Prix in 2018 puts Scotland Women 7s a step closer to the long-term aims of qualifying for the HSBC Women’s Sevens Series and the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Scott concluded: “The highlight for me was seeing what they were actually capable of.

“It was easy going coaching-wise because they always wanted to learn. They were always asking what they can do to improve as an individual but also in their roles within the squad.

“The amount of enthusiasm the players were coming to training with has been most enjoyable thing. I couldn’t have dreamt of a better start to caching.”

Results in Czech Republic:

Scotland Women 7s won the first round of the Rugby Europe Women’s Sevens Trophy with an unbeaten run to the final.

They topped their pool on Day One with convincing wins against Moldova, Israel and Germany scoring 22 tries in the process, with debutants Rhona Lloyd, Hannah Smith and Elizabeth Musgrove featuring on the score sheet.

Scott Wight’s side continued to dominate in the knock-out rounds where they met Hungary in the semi-finals and Ukraine in the quarter-finals before facing Germany for the second time.

They scored a further 20 tries on Day Two taking their total number of tries to 42. Ukraine were the only team to put any points past them (7) over the six games with the Scots scoring 246 points before captain Lisa Thomson lifted the trophy.

Day One 

Scotland Women 7s got off to a positive start with a 46-0 win against Moldova in Pool C. Lloyd (right), Musgrove and Smith got their international 7s careers off to a flying start with all three scoring on their debuts.

Next up were Israel and the Scots showed no mercy with another 46-0 victory before facing top seeds Germany and finishing their first day with a 36-0 win.

Day Two

The team continued their unstoppable run meeting Hungary in the quarter-finals and recording another 46-0 win.

Following a 26-7 win against Ukraine, the Scots faced Germany in the final and secured another well-deserved 46-0 win to claim the trophy.

Try Scorers 

Rhona Lloyd (12)

Megan Gaffney (5)

Lauren Harris (5)

Chloe Rollie (5)

Hannah Smith (5)

Elizabeth Musgrove (4)

Helen Nelson (3)

Lisa Martin (1)

Jenny Maxwell (1)

Lisa Thomson (1)

Results in Hungary:

In a repeat of the first round, Scotland topped their pool with wins against Mata, Finland and Czech to progress to the Cup competition where they dispatched Latvia and Romania before meeting Germany again in the final.

Day One

Scotland Women 7s opened the second round of the competition against Malta with a convincing 41-0 win.

They defeated Finland, who were relegated from the Grand Prix last year, 38-0 and beat Czech Republic 45-0.

Helen Nelson, Lisa Martin and Chloe Rollie all got on the board with successful conversions throughout the day.

Day Two

Showing no signs of letting up, Scotland Women 7s dominated in the knock-out stages of the Cup competition with a 50-0 victory against Latvia in the quarter-finals.

They met Romania in the semi-finals and claimed a 32-0 win to secure their berth in the final and promotion to the Grand Prix with the top two teams gaining automatic promotion for next season.

In a repeat of the first-round final, Scotland comfortably beat Germany 33-5 to win the 2017 Rugby Europe Women’s Sevens Trophy.

Try Scorers in Hungary

Rhona Lloyd (8)

Megan Gaffney (7)

Hannah Smith (7)

Lauren Harris (4)

Elizabeth Musgrove (3)

Chloe Rollie (2)

Louise McMillan (2)

Abi Evans (2)

Helen Nelson (2)

Lisa Martin (2)

Jenny Maxwell (1)