Scotland lost 5-28 to Fiji in the cup quarter-final and were then eliminated from the plate semi-final 19-28 by Samoa. Overall, however, coach Stephen Gemmell was able to draw some encouragement from the opening tournament of the season.

“Once again we qualified for a Cup quarter-final and the form the boys displayed against Samoa – a top four team on the world sevens circuit last season, who only scored the try to settle the tie right at the death – was impressive.

“We’ve got Samoa in our pool in George next week and on the basis of our display today we know that’s a game we have the potential to win,” he told Scottish Rugby’s website.

Scotland’s try against Fiji was scored in the first-half by Ruaridh Jackson, whose last-gasp score against France on day one had been crucial in ensuring their qualification for the knockout stages. Scotland also defeated the Arabian Gulf yesterday to sit alongside a loss to New Zealand.

Against Samoa, who were knocked out by England in the Cup quarter-final, Colin Gregor notched Scotland’s first try but from trailing only 5-7 at half-time the Samoans opened up a 5-21 lead. Scotland’s response saw Stephen McColl and Chris Kinloch cross for tries, both converted by Gregor to narrow the gap to 19-21. However, Samoa’s final converted try sealed their win.

Scotland will travel to South Africa for next week’s tournament where, in addition to Samoa, they face Australia and Tunisia in a tough pool.