Scots land tough Gold Coast draw

Scotland’s men have been handed a daunting draw against world No 2 side Australia and eighthranked New Zealand at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

The 23rd-ranked Scots also face Canada (No 11) and South Africa (No 15) in their pool, then the hosts.

Scotland lost 2-0 to South Africa and 5-0 to Australia in the pool matches four years ago.

But Scotland coach Derek Forsyth said: “I’m quite happy with this draw. New Zealand are not at their best and we drew 1-1 with Canada in the recent World League semi-final.

“Apart from Australia, it’s a good group. We’ve managed to avoid the Asian teams and it gives us good opportunities to show how we have progressed.”

Scotland’s women, who recently fell one place to 18th in the rankings, also face Australia (No 4) and New Zealand (No 5) but have 21st-ranked Canada and Ghana, ranked 30th in their pool.

The Scots are seeded to come third in their group, but it is only the top two who progress to the medal play-offs.