Scottish Rugby reviews future of sevens squad after venue loss

Scotland's sevens squad have had patchy results

Glasgow losing a leg of the Sevens World Series to Paris next year could threaten the existence of Scotland's full-time squad.

Scottish Rugby (SRU) says it is "absolutely baffled" by the decision, which is yet to be formally announced by competition organisers.

The SRU learned of the decision by World Rugby in October.

An SRU spokesman told BBC Scotland it is already assessing how this will affect the future of its squad.

Scottish Rugby has also expressed "our disappoint that the birthplace of sevens, which consistently delivered a great tournament, had been removed from the Sevens World Series".

The Sevens World Series visits nine locations annually and a Scottish leg will be held for the final time in May.

Scotland has hosted the event for seven years, initially at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh and then at Scotstoun Stadium in Glasgow.

Scotstoun Stadium will again host the Sevens World Series' Scottish leg in May

The SRU says it received positive feedback from players, officials, fans and sponsors regarding the delivery of the tournament.

Japan is also set to lose its host nation status, to Singapore, despite being the host country for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with the new venue choices expected to remain in place until 2019.

"Scottish Rugby submitted a compelling and robust bid document to World Rugby in August last year to continue to host a round of the Sevens World Series," the SRU said in a statement.

"This was endorsed fully by our partners and sponsors who had supported our seven successful years of hosting the tournament.

"We are extremely disappointed, as are our partners, that the Scottish leg of the World Series has been given to another location.

"This very much remains a live issue for us and we are engaged in dialogue with World Rugby currently.

"We are committed to delivering another stand-out weekend of rugby sevens in Glasgow over the weekend of Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 May."

World Rugby is still refusing to comment on the choice of venues but says it will announce the full series in the next month or so.