More woe for Scots after painful Chile defeat
SCOTLAND can end up no higher than 15th in the final standings at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town after suffering an agonising 24- 21 extra-time defeat by Chile yest erday on Day Two of t he three-day event.
Ciaran Beattie’s squad fell 14-0 behind early on to the South Americans in the Challenge 13th16th-place match, but narrowed the gap just before half time with a try by Femi Sofolarin and conversion from Matt Davidson.
Scotland then took control in the second half to go seven points up thanks to tries from Jamie Farndale and Callum Young, both converted by Davidson.
They still held that lead going into the last play of regulation time, but after heavy pressure close to the Scots’ line, the Chileans seized on a loose ball to touch down, and converted to take the game into sudden-death extra-time. They had the first chance to win the contest in time added on, and took it when they were awarded a penalty.
It was an avoidable defeat from a Scottish point of view, but Chile showed a lot of fighting spirit to stay in the contest. They were more inventive and adventurous in open play, and had a touch more energy when it mattered most.
Scotland will now play Wales this afternoon for 15th place at the end of what has been a disappointing tournament for them. They began well enough on Friday, beating Jamaica in the preliminary round of the main Championship. But defeat by New Zealand in the round of 16 saw them drop down to the secondary Challenge competition.
The winners of that tournament finish ninth overall, but the Scots’ hopes of doing that were dashed when they were beaten 24-5 by Kenya in yesterday’s early match. A Kaleem Barreto try provided their only points, but the score came too late to make a difference.