Scottish duo named in Great Britain sevens squad for Rio

Former Edinburgh Rugby player Mark Robertson and Glasgow Warriors' Mark Bennett have been selected in the Team GB sevens squad for the Rio Olympics.

Mark Robertson spent four years at Edinburgh Rugby

The duo were amongst seven Scots in the extended training squad, but the other five missed out. Scott Riddell, Jamie Farndale, Gavin Lowe, Lee Jones and Joseva Nayacavou were the unfortunate ones. Borderer Robertson, 31, spent four years on Edinburgh’s books earlier in his career while Bennett, 23, decided to miss Scotland’s XV-a-side summer tour to Japan to make sure he was picked for Brazil. The men’s squad will be led by England’s Tom Mitchell and includes his fellow countryman James Rodwell, who set a new world record earlier this year after playing in 69 consecutive HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series’ tournaments.

In the 12-man squad there are eight Englishmen, two Scots and two Welsh. The women’s squad has 11 English players and one Welsh. The women’s event runs from August 6-8 with the men’s event from August 9-11.

Men’s Squad: Mark Bennett, Dan Bibby, Phil Burgess, Sam Cross, Alex Davis, James Davies, Ollie Lindsay, Tom Mitchell, Dan Norton, James Rodwell, Mark Robertson, Marcus Watson.

Women’s Squad: Claire Allan, 31, Abbie Brown, Heather Fisher, Natasha Hunt, Jasmine Joyce, Katy McLean, Alice Richardson, Emily Scarratt, Emily Scott, Danielle Waterman, Joanne Watmore, Amy Wilson-Hardy.