Ex-Melrose pair in Scots 7s squad for New Zealand

Sam Pecqueur in his Melrose days (archive picture by Ian Georgeson).

Sam Pecqueur is joined by Nyle Godsmark as the ‘13th man’, in Scotland’s 7s squad line-up, as the two former Melrose players, and their team mates, head for New Zealand and the next stage of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

The event, in Hamilton, from January 25-26, follows last month’s leg in Cape Town, South Africa, which saw the Scots reach the quarter-finals.

They lost to eventual winners New Zealand, with whom they are drawn in Pool ‘A’ next weekend, alongside USA and Wales.

Head coach Ciaran Beattie, from Selkirk, wants his players to embrace the challenge of facing the All Blacks in their own back yard.

He told Scottish Rugby’s website: “It’s important to not get carried away after a really good showing in Cape Town but there were signs that we’re improving as a group.

“It’s a tough pool, with USA and Wales as well as the tournament hosts, but we showed in our last match against New Zealand that we can cause teams problems.

“Consistency and having faith in our structures will stand us in good stead both here in Hamilton and going forward to Sydney and beyond.”

Scotland take on both USA and Wales in the early hours of Saturday , January 25 (GMT), with kick-offs at 1.09am and 7.05am respectively.

They then tackle New Zealand the following day at 12.41am, with remaining fixtures to be determined by other results across the four pools.