Mixed emotions for Beattie after rugby sevens exit

Ciaran Beattie admitted feeling mixed emotions after Scotland men’s sevens team saw their hopes of a first Commonwealth Games medal dashed by Fiji at Coventry Arena.

Scotland qualified for the quarterfinals despite losing their final Pool B game 34-0 to South Africa but knew they had their work cut out for them against the Olympic champions.

And despite leaving everything out on the pitch, the Fijians proved too good for Beattie’s side as they prevailed 34-7 to leave Scotland turning their attention to a potential fifth-place finish.

“I think disappointed is the overall feeling, we did come to medal, and we came up against one of the best teams in the world - you’re always going to be up against it,” said the head coach.

“We went out there and rolled the dice, we will certainly sleep at night knowing that we died trying but we’re going to try and finish as the best Scotland Commonwealth Games team there's ever been.”

Scotland’s women also missed out on the medal matches in what is their Commonwealth Games debut, but they made history by claiming their first ever victories in the competition.

An impressive 33-12 victory over South Africa in their final Pool B game was followed by a thumping 58-0 win over Sri Lanka - much to the delight of captain Lisa Thomson, who is now relishing a blockbuster encounter with England for their own fifth-place finish.

“We're buzzing," she said. "We knew we had that potential in us, and we said from day one, and the game this morning, that we made errors in the first three games, and we just wanted to be clinical.

“We had a lot of possession and we spoke a lot about finishing opportunities, and we felt we did that. We kept the ball and we played well when we had possession.

“We put them under a lot of pressure, and we got the ball under the sticks. We’re very aware of what we’re doing at this Games and that we’re setting a path for the future.

“We have spoken a lot about that since our programme started in May, we’ve been sharing our journeys with each other and a bit part of that is inspiring the next generation.”

She added: “Scotland v England in front of an English crowd is where we want to be. What else could you possibly want? It will be a tough challenge, but it will be class.”

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