Rugby College: Scotland"s rugby sevens side keep medal hopes alive after Canada win sees ...

Home crowd roared Scots to victory after opening defeat to NZ

They are two wins away from Scotland’s first ever sevens medal

Scots progress after Barbados win and decisive 21-5 victory over Canada

Sean Lamont believes Ibrox crowd will give them a boost

Scotland face South Africa in Sunday’s quarter final

They could face England in a potential home nations semi final

By

Rob Robertson

Published:

01:48, 27 July 2014

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Updated:

01:50, 27 July 2014

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On a day of drama and ultimate delight for Scotlandâ€™s rugby sevens team, they kept their hopes of a Commonwealth Games medal alive after qualifying from their group.

A controversial 17-14 opening defeat to New Zealand, who were reduced to five men after two yellow cards, was followed by an easy 56-0 win over Barbados which meant it all came down to their final group match against Canada.

Only a win would do to qualify and Scotland, roared on by a crowd of over 50,000 in the evening session, which equalled the morning attendance, didnâ€™t disappoint running out 21-5 winners.

Big support: Mark Bennett celebrates a try in the decisive game against Canada as the fans cheer him on

They will return to Ibrox today to play in front of a total audience of around 100,000 for the knock-out stages of the tournament hoping to pick up Scotlandâ€™s first ever rugby sevens medal.

They started their campaign with a spirited loss to the current Commonwealth Games champions New Zealand who were given a scare in a match that ended in real ill-feeling.

The All Blacks started superbly, racing to a 17-0 half-time lead but in the second half Scotland rallied, roared on by the home crowd.

Two New Zealanders picked up yellow cards for denying Scotland try-scoring opportunities that had the home fans booing them for their poor sportsmanship.

We did it: Bennett celebrates with Colin Gregor as the Scots secure progress to the quarter finals

With a two-man advantage Scotland slowly cut the deficit and two converted tries from Lee Jones set up a thrilling finish.

With the Kiwis panicking, there was confusion on their bench which led to Tim Mikkleson, the second New Zealander to be yellow-carded, returning to the field around 10 seconds before his two minutes in the sin-bin was over.

That was illegal and, because of that, there were grounds for appeal by Scotland. After thinking about it, Scotland coach Stevie Gemmell saved referee Marius van der Westhuizenâ€™s blushes by refusing to make an issue of his mistake.

Backing: Scotland

Backing: Scotland’s fans were in great voice at Ibrox and will need to be again for Sunday’s knockout stages

â€˜An error was made that had no direct impact on the outcome,â€™ said Gemmell. â€˜Just as we look at our errors, all referees analyse their performances.â€™

Scotlandâ€™s try scorer Jones was a bit more forthright, accusing New Zealand of using every trick in the book to stop them winning.

â€˜After giving them a 17-point halftime lead it was always going to be tough but we came back at them.

But they managed to break down a couple of our attacks that could have led to tries,â€™ said Jones.

â€˜Playing for Scotland in a stadium like this is phenomenal â€” our target is to medal and we ran New Zealand, who are the current champions, close so that is a very good sign.â€™

Not getting us down: Scott Wrigh and co managed to come back with two wins after the opening loss

Scotlandâ€™s second match was easier as they strolled to a 56-0 win over whipping boys Barbados.

In an eight-try romp in the rain they set up the winners-take-all match in emphatic style with two tries from Jones and others from Mark Bennett, Scott Wight, Sean Lamont, James Johnstone, Stuart Hogg and Colin Shaw.

Man of the match Lamont believes their performances at the group stages showed they have the ability to secure a medal.

Big win: Lee Jones leaves a Barbados man grounded as Scotland racked up the points against the minnows

Grit: Canada

Grit: Canada’s Michael Phillips is stopped in his tracks by the Scottish defensive line at Ibrox

â€˜This squad is showing they can be contenders,â€™ he said. â€˜We are playing good sevens rugby and we canâ€™t wait for the rest of the tournament.â€™

In the final match of the day, Scotland went in 14-5 ahead at half-time thanks to tries from Jones and Richie Vernon which were converted by Colin Gregor.

The only reply from Canada was a try from Michael Fuailefau.

In the second half Scotland sealed the match with a try from Bennet converted again by Gregor.

Although Scotland were given the biggest cheers, the home crowd embraced the tournament with massive crowds at both sessions.