Dalziel brushes off GB merger talk as squad seek further improvement

New Scotland Sevens head coach John Dalziel is not concerned about rumours continuing to circulate stating that his squad, Wales and England could be set to merge to form a Great Britain side in the future.

The Scotland squad have been back at BT Murrayfield this week as their preparations continue for the 2017/18 World Series.

There have been reports that discussions have been under way for some time over the future direction of sevens among the home nations.

Team GB’S silver medal winning showing last summer at the Olympics in Rio was seen as a big success – and merging the Scotland, Wales and England teams for the World Series is believed to be an option on the table.

However, Dalziel, who has taken up the post vacated by Calum Macrae, said: “I am not worried, that is obviously a matter for other people and we are focused. The sevens programme is in place here and Scottish Rugby holds sevens in high regard.

“There is a real focus building on sevens here for this year and next year – Scotland Sevens plays a big part in producing players for the XVS side and will continue to do so.

“We are clear, we are only focused on Scotland and if we can improve as Scotland then why would anybody want to change that?

“Our job as coaches and players is to make Scotland as competitive as we can be and keep going in the right direction.”

0 John Dalziel: Focused. Stephen Moore will step down as captain of Australia immediately and retire from international rugby at the end of the year.

Moore played his 120th Test against Italy last month to become the tenth most capped international of all time. The 34-yearold will play one more Super Rugby season with Queensland Reds.

He said: “It has been a big part of my life and it means a lot to me playing for Australia. I felt it is the right time to finish the year strongly then let the next crop of players take the team forward.”