By Gary Anderson 

February 18 - Hosts Scotland kick off their Glasgow 2014 camapign with a clash against reigning champions New Zealand ©Getty Images Hosts Scotland will open their Commonwealth Games rugby sevens campaign at Glasgow 2014 with a daunting clash against reigning champions New Zealand, it was announced today. 


The other Home Nations, meanwhile, England and Wales kick-off their quest for medals with matches against Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

The All Blacks, aiming for a fifth straight Commonwealth Games gold medal, kick off the 45-game competition at Ibrox Stadium with a match against Canada during the first morning session on Saturday July 26, which is due to get underway at 10:30am.

Delhi 2010 silver medallists Australia are next up against Sri Lanka in the second of 12 matches that will take place during the first of four sessions over the two days of competition.

Scotland will follow up their first Pool A outing against the Kiwis with games against Barbados, announced as replacements for Nigeria last week, and Canada during the Saturday night session which also includes clashes between England and Australia, Wales and Samoa, and South Africa versus Kenya, who are all core teams on the current HSBC Sevens World Series tour.

England versus Australia will be one of the highlights of the first day of action during the Glasgow 2014 rugby sevens competition ©Getty Images England versus Australia will be one of the highlights of the first day of action during the Glasgow 2014 rugby sevens competition ©Getty Images



"The rugby sevens competition at Glasgow 2014 will be a truly world-class field and, as the match schedule announced today confirms, is set to be a gripping contest," said Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg.

"Rugby sevens is action-packed and fast-paced and, since all of the teams will be playing in each session of competition, this superb Glasgow 2014 sporting showcase guarantees fans the chance to see world-class rugby in action."

Similar to the Sevens World Series format, the top two teams from each of the four pools will go through to the quarter-final competition while the bottom eight sides will play-off in a series of knockout matches to decide the line-up for the Shield, Bowl and Plate finals.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals in the main competition will decide who will take part in the bronze medal and gold medal matches, with all games taking place on Sunday July 27.

"The rugby sevens competition has proven to be a hit with fans at previous Commonwealth Games and I am sure that Glasgow 2014 will be no different with many of the world's top teams participating as the sport returns to Scotland, its spiritual birthplace,"said International Rugby Board chairman, Bernard Lapasset.

"This prestigious event is always fiercely contested and while HSBC Sevens World Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens champions New Zealand probably start as favourites, they will be pushed hard by the likes of England, Samoa, Australia and South Africa, not to mention the home team Scotland and many emerging rugby nations such as Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Barbados.

"Sevens often produces surprises, so no doubt every team will head to Glasgow with the ambition of winning a medal."

Can anyone stop the mighty All Blacks from securing a fifth successive Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow? ©Getty Images Can anyone stop the mighty All Blacks from securing a fifth successive Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow? ©Getty Images



The complete pool line-ups for Glasgow 2014 are: Pool A - New Zealand, Scotland, Canada and Barbados; Pool B - South Africa, Kenya, Cook Islands and Trinidad and Tobago; Pool C - Samoa, Wales, Papua New Guinea and Malaysia; Pool D - England, Australia, Sri Lanka and Uganda.

Organisers have revealed that three of the four sessions are sold out.

But there are still a limited number of tickets available for the Saturday night session at Ibrox which kicks-off at 6:00pm.

Ticket prices start at £15 ($25/€18) for adults and £7.50 ($12.50/€3.75) for under 16s and over 60s and for more information click here or contact the Glasgow 2014 ticket hotline on 0844 826 2014.

The full match schedule for the Glasgow 2014 rugby sevens competition can be viewed here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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