Scotland fail in Commonwealth Games

Is it a time for a head in hands moment for scottish fans? (©GettyImages).

Scotland have done a fantastic job in hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games and in return have a vast amount of medals to show for their hard work, but this year their chances of winning a medal in the Rugby Sevens disappeared abruptly.

Having escaped the group - only losing won game to one of the favourites New Zealand - the hosts looked comfortable in their other two games against Canada and underdogs Barbados.

But in the knockout stages the class shone through and Scotland were left licking their wounds when South Africa ran riot, beating the home nation 35-10 in the Ibrox Stadium, before going on to win gold in this years' tournament beating New Zealand in the final 17-12.

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Scotland

However, was this a positive step forward for the hosts? Scotland have been deemed as the pushover nation in Rugby Union, mainly in the Six Nations as Scotland battle it out with Italy to see who will end up with the wooden spoon, as the prize is a tongue-in-cheek method of congratulating the worst team after five games.

Even in the coveted Calcutta Cup when England take on Scotland, England have won the competition 72 of the 142 match ups, and yet England remained unbeaten in this cup for the last five years.

In fact, the last time Scotland won the cup was in 2008 as the Scottish have only won the Calcutta cup three times in 14 years. But there are positives to look at, especially in the growth of the sport.

In the current Scotland team managed by Vern Cotter, Cotter has gone for a mix of experience and youth, while Rugby Sevens coach Stevie Gemmel placed Stuart Hogg in the team, hoping to give experience and leadership in a young exuberant team.

Scotland's tour

Scotland recently had a rugby union tests tour against the likes of Canada, USA and Argentina, where Cotter chose 47 players for the tour with 21 of players aged 25 or below, and only one of these under 25s hadn't made a senior cap.

In the tour Scotland went on to beat Canada, USA and Argentina before losing to fierce rival South Africa on the final day of their tour 55-6.

But on a positive note collecting three wins out of four is a great achievement and an incentive for the future Six Nations and the World Cup.

World Cup

The Scots have been draw in Pool B of the 2015 tournament alongside the likes of Samoa and South Africa, as the team ranked eighth in the World could surely finish second in this challenging group.

All that needs to be considered by Cotter is what type of squad does his bring to next years' two prestigious tournaments.

Does he go for a young skilful and fearless team, or an experienced team who can claw results? Because this is a time for putting the final touches to the national team and going on to build from there as the next year will answer a lot of questions.